decade, said there is a strong pattern among Cambodian artists to
document and archive the city's landscape, with the anticipation that
it could become unrecognizable in years to come.
"Almost 80% of the local artists in advanced practices are committedly
making commentaries on the rapid urbanization of Cambodia. These local
artists are responding to the change in their lifestyles, culture and
environment and some of them are also expressing their personal
experiences as they are also residents near the lake that is now
vanished," she said.
Gleeson added that this movement of artists is not pre-planned, but
the works seen so far have turned out to be a cohesive collection that
presents a similar view.
"Phnom Penh is a flat city, and has never been a concrete city. But,
as it develops, the artists here mourn for the loss of that landscape
that they are so used to. It is an irony, as we feel that some things
are dying, even though the city is growing," she said.
Among the artists that have prominent works on the subject include Kim
Hak, a photography artist that has exhibited several projects in and
out of Cambodia, mainly on people living in and among colonial
buildings in Phnom Penh.
"More often than not, a new building or skyscraper is constructed at
the expense of existing buildings that have historical and social
values, including schools and hospitals. I believe that the colonial
buildings should co-exist with the new ones, instead of changing Phnom
Penh's landscape entirely," he said.
Another artist, Khvay Samnang, has worked extensively in producing art
works to express his views on the vanishing lakes in Phnom Penh's city
centre. He has recently exhibited a series of photographs of himself
standing in the middle of the now-gone Boeung Kak lake and pouring
earth over his body as the shot was being taken.
"My work is for the people. I use my body to react towards the loss of
lakes situated in the heart of the city. I am not trying to change the
government's mind about how they should develop this country but
rather, I am expressing my experience of this loss and be critical
about this issue," he said.
Khvay said he is not against the government developing the land in
Phnom Penh. But, he says it has to be done with proper urban planning.
"Filling the lake with earth will result in environmental consequences
such as increased floods in Cambodia in future years," he explained.
Responses to these artists' work have been encouraging. Kim said his
photographs of colonial architecture have helped raise awareness of
preserving some heritage monuments. "When these photographs are
exhibited in Phnom Penh, UNESCO wanted to use some of them as exhibits
to discuss with the government on preserving these buildings," he
said.
Gleeson said the local artistic community did not produce art works to
quickly change people's minds, but rather to engage with the
community. "In their own individual ways, these artists want to be
initiators of conversations, and not want to let things pass without
saying something," she said.
April 18, 2012
Cambodian Artists Respond to Phnom Penh's Rapid Urbanization
Yong Yen Nie
Phnom Penh
http://www.voanews.com/english/news/asia/Cambodian-Artists-Respond-to-Phnom-Penhs-Rapid-Urbanization-147948755.html
