Cambodian artist Khvay Samnang on Ramayana, the Chong community, the importance of ecology, and the art collective Stiev Selapak.
Artist Khvay Samnang
Ep.88 | Cambodian-based artist Khvay Samnang talked about Calling For Rain, a work that consists of a video installation but also multiple sculptures that are inspired by Reamker, the Cambodian version of the poem Ramayana. We talked about ecology and the impact of urban development, the critical role of animals in the Chang community and Stiev Selapak, an art collective committed to reevaluating and preserving Cambodian history as well as exploring the connections in visual practices that were disrupted by the civil war of the Khmer Rouge regime.
Khvay Samnang was born in 1982 in Svay Rieng, Cambodia. He graduated from the Painting Department at the Royal University of Fine Art in Phnom Penh, where he lives and works today. Khvay’s multidisciplinary practice offers new views on historic and current events as well as on traditional cultural rituals using humorous symbolic gestures. In his work, which includes all media, he focuses on the humanitarian and ecological impacts of colonialism and globalization. The development of each body of work is based on thorough research and investigation of local specificities, structures and conditions.
Traveling is a crucial tool for his practice. Engaging directly and personally with local communities – within and beyond the cultural scene – is an integral part of his work, which makes it highly relevant, critical and connectable to various contemporary discourses. His work shows a remarkable ability to engage with cultural and geographic contexts as well as with spatial and institutional settings.
Calling for Rain, Khvay Samnang, 2021
Preah Kunlong, Khvay Samnang, 2019
Website www.khvaysamnang.com
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