The Chambâk Tree: OpeningA capacity crowd came to see Srey Bandol's paintings (The Chambâk Tree) at the French Cultural Centre, Thursday 27 April.
Bandol (below, orange shirt) is quite fluent in French and English, and was quite happy to see both an appreciative crowd and his Phnom Penh friends. As an art buff and art teacher, he's been known to do day trips from Battambang simply to attend an exhibition opening or art event for a few hours - and then turn around and commute straight back. Now that's hardcore.
Over fifty boards utilize paint, dirt, sand and glue to tell his life story in words and pictures.
It's a gripping mixture of content and form, I hope these are published as a book some day. (Khmer-English-French translation please!)
The symbols are good luck charms, often accompanying a central image and described by text written in sand. Image and text share space with expressive spatters of paint indicating the daily chaos in this narrative.
By all means, if you're in Phnom Penh, don't miss it. And if this wasn't enough -
next: Exhibition at Reyum, of Bandol's huge pencil drawings.
Looking at Angkor: An exhibition and publication of Srey Bandol's drawings
Opening: Friday, May 5th, 2006 at 5 pm
Reyum 47, Street 178, Phnom Penh
