Usually, when looking at a painting, we do so with our eyes. With Song Kheang’s canvases, be prepared to do so with your ears, too. No, this is not some kind of experimental talking-painting project. It’s the juxtaposition of buildings, temples and streets crowded together which talks to us. It’s the strong and vivid mix of colours, chasing each other along the surface of the art, which emits sound: the sound of street vendors, of people chatting, of kids playing, the litanies of monks, the noise of pots and cutlery. Coloured Stones, a new exhibition by Song Kheang at The Insider Gallery, speaks of Cambodia, where the vibrant noise of the country’s historic cities seems to perforate every canvas.
Angkor Light, the exhibition’s manifesto, is a vertical city, running to the sky. From time to time helical movements suggest the image of a vortex or the shape of anthropomorphic statues. Buddhas, sitting with their legs crossed, look at the fabulous town from the top of its temples. Horror vacui, the fear of leaving empty spaces, is a dominant aspect in Song Kheang’s work. His paintings have the vocabulary of ancient storytellers: their patterns, profusion of ornaments and vivid hues remind us of precious tapestries and Hindu illustrations. After all, India and Cambodia are historically intertwined and in these pieces we catch many influences derived from our not-so-distant friend.
The representation of Cambodian landmarks and elements of its cultural heritage is not the commercial and scholastic copy we’re used to, but rather an original interpretation of the artist’s personal view and perception of it. Perusing these paintings is like walking through Cambodia’s history, imbued with a sense of its magical and legendary past. Like in the ancient epic poems, we meet Jayavarman II; find ourselves in a fabulous Angkor; dance with Apsaras; bump into elephant-headed fish, lotus flowers and smiling stones. Fantasy, mythology and religion blend with history, narrating the deeds of a long-lost Kingdom.
“The world is a combination of diverse cultures, traditions, religions,” says Kheang. “Similarly, the temples are built with numerous stones, all of them different from each other. As the time passes by, the stones lose their original shape and colour and, ultimately, encounter nothing but ruins. That is what is happening to Cambodian cultural heritage.” Kheang’s words are filled with a sense of impotence, an outcry about the current state of abandon of a country once considered magnificent; his works not only a way to express concern for his neglected homeland, but also an invitation to safeguard its legacy.
WHO: Song Kheang
WHAT: Coloured Stones exhibition opening
WHERE: The Insider Gallery, InterContinental Hotel, #296 Mao Tse Tung Blvd.
WHEN: 6pm July 3 to August 1
WHY: “A country without a past has the emptiness of a barren continent and a city without old buildings is like a man without a memory.” – Graeme Shankland