FEATURE: Beyond Apsara - Art in Cambodia

When you think of the Asian nation of Cambodia, you might think of ancient temples, rice paddies, the Khmer Rouge and the years of civil war in the '80s and '90s.
There are still plenty of tales of hardship and poverty in Cambodia but there's also a booming tourism industry and a young population keen to embrace the modern world. The influences of America and Korea might be prominent in popular culture but Cambodia has a small but growing contemporary arts movement of its own.

Liam Cochrane

Last Updated: Mon, 16 Jan 2012 10:53:00 +1100

When Cambodian artist Anida Yoeu Ali and her Japanese partner set up two white walls at a busy Phnom Penh market, they got a frosty reaction.

"It was chaotic because vendors didn't want two pillars in front of their stall and they were very hostile," Masahiro Sugano said.

The pillars were meant to resemble the white walls of an art gallery and were used to display photographs the pair had taken at the market.

Mr Sugano said many people at Phsar Kandal, a lively open-air market in the middle of the city, view art as a waste of time.

"No one expects to see art in an environment like that [the market], and normal viewers don't expect to have that encounter with everyday culture," Anida Yoeu Ali said.

The point of the "social experiment" in the market was to expose more people to art.

"It was like a gathering, chatting corner throughout the evening," Mr Sugano said.

Such an event would have been unthinkable during the Khmer Rouge reign.

Starting Over

In 1975, the ultra-Communist regime declared Year Zero and wanted to turn the country into a peasant utopia, where everyone but the top leaders were forced to plant rice and construct huge reservoirs.

Intellectuals became the enemy. Any art that did not serve the party was outlawed.

In just three brutal years, the nation's artists were all but wiped out.

Years of war and struggle followed and art was far from a priority. But in recent years, a contemporary arts scene has been growing.

Dana Langlois has helped nurture budding artists in Cambodia since she arrived in the country in 1998 as a volunteer.

Two years later she opened Java Arts Cafe in Phnom Penh.

"I wanted to create a space for artists to use and the cafe is a great way to bring an audience into the work."

Java Arts Cafe has since become one of the country's leading contemporary art spaces, although new galleries and studios have started popping up around the capital.

One of the women Ms Langlois mentors is Oeur Sokuntevy, who she described as "bold, honest and completely unabashed".

Oeur Sokuntevy - better known as Tevy - has also been described as a "one-woman sexual revolution", defying traditional expectations of Cambodian women.

One recent piece shows [pictured] a woman getting her hair washed at a local market. It is a scene common in Cambodia, only in Tevy's depiction the women take the form of animals. For her, it is a comment on human nature and consumerism.

"Right now, many women use a lot of cosmetics to make themselves look beautiful, to try and look like a model," Tevy said.

"They use contact lenses to look European, they try to look slim, look nice and spend a lot of money. But for me, I don't think it's very useful."

Challenges

In Cambodia, art is a luxury many cannot afford. Even the simple logistics of obtaining raw materials can be tough.

Tevy works in humble surrounds, not that she seems to mind.

"I just work in my living room. I don't have a big studio because it makes no sense - I like to wake up and then start to work."

For Anida Yoeu Ali, who was raised in Chicago, it can be very difficult to produce art in Cambodia.

"Just to make something from scratch here is hard because they just don't have access to a lot of supplies so they have to be very resourceful."

And resources are not the only challenge for artists. Socially, it can also be quite difficult.

"They are often criticised and seen in kind of a strange light," Java Arts Cafe owner Dana Langlois said.

"People need to understand that [in Cambodia] just putting your art in public is a major effort and a major statement."

As Cambodian artists break away from the ancient art forms of the Angkor Empire, they must decide how to absorb modern influences without simply mimicing international trends.

After working in Cambodian dance, music and theatre for 14 years, Suon Bun Rith is starting to see Cambodian performers find their own style.

"The culture belongs to them [young artists] and to the next generation. We own our culture and have the right to preserve it and make it alive."

Suon Bun Rith is about to move from Phnom Penh to lead another performance group in Battambang, which is fast becoming a cultural hub for the country.

A school there teaches music, dance and circus and is doing incredibly well.

It may not be widespread, but at least in some urban areas, a whole new generation of Cambodian children are growing up with contemporary art as a part of their education and part of their lives.