"Memories – 1938 to 1954" Exhibition
Nov 9th, 2006 by Jinja
“Memories – 1938 to 1954″ Exhibition
Well, it’s Independence Day in Cambodia and people are celebrating with Independence Day cakes, parties and the like.
(Well, not really. Most people are just enjoying a day off.)
If you want to get a little history about this holiday, you could try dropping by Svay Ken‘s place.
As a younger man he used to work at ‘Le Royal’ hotel – last night he was the honored guest at a reception to mark the opening of his new exhibition. Now at first floor, #17E1 Street 47 (‘French Street’), Sangkat Wat Phnom, Khan Daun Penh. (Close to Wat Phnom). 012 382 511.
“Memories – 1938 to 1954″ shows his recollections of French Protectorate and pre-independence times. Particularly fascinating are his descriptions of serving in the nationalist ‘Chivapol’ troops that trained with wooden sticks as guns, due to lack of resources. His written recollections of this time won him an award in the Nou Hach Literary Journal.
(Above: Colonial troops surrender weapons to Chivapol troops.)
It’s well worth a look, bringing a personal view on a very specific moment in time. (Also showing once again that Svay Ken is one of the hardest working Khmer painters you can find.)
[Images courtesy Svay Ken, all rights reserved]
Tags: Cambodia,painting,history,khmer
