INSIDER GUIDES BANGALORE • DANANG • KATHMANDU • MALE • PHUKET • XIAMEN SilkwindsSEPTEMBER 2019 A JOY TO FLY WITH SILKAIR + Building a future: THE INFLIGHT MAGAZINE OF SILKAIR SILKAIR OF MAGAZINE THE INFLIGHT The human-first philosophy behind Shenzhen’s new architecture WWW.S INGAPOREAIR.COM/SILKAIR Stunning coral gardens, pristine beaches and deserted islands SEPTEMBER 2019 SEPTEMBER UNCHARTED await in a remote WATERS corner of Lombok THE REGIONAL WING OF SINGAPORE AIRLINES Silkwinds Sep19 00_COVER 1 SEPT 2019_FINAL.VT.indd 1 7/8/19 11:14 AM SEET Siem Reap A FRESH CANVAS After the Khmer Rouge regime decimated a generation of creatives, the contemporary art scene in Siem Reap is starting over, thanks to young artists, hoteliers and newly opened galleries 36 SILVERKRIS.COM Silkwinds Sep 2019 36-43_Sept_Feature Siem Reap_v2.indd 36 DTPshare 3 15/8/19 4:10 PM Seet Siem Reap A FRESH CANVAS After the Khmer Rouge regime decimated a generation of creatives, the contemporary art scene in Siem Reap is starting over, thanks to young artists, hoteliers and newly opened galleries Words by Sanjay Surana Photos by Jorge Rodriguez SILVERKRIS.COM 37 Silkwinds Sep 2019 36-43_Sept_Feature Siem Reap_v2.indd 37 DTPshare 3 15/8/19 4:11 PM Seet Siem Reap a group of Cambodians and expats sip Previous spread, wine and mingle while the singer-song- clockwise from left writer Brak Sophanna delivers melodi- Batia Sarem ous ballads at Treeline Urban Resort. Gallery; elephant On a humid The boutique hotel in central Siem sculptures in Reap prides itself on its displays of con- Treeline’s courtyard temporary Cambodian art, and is on exhibition space; this day celebrating the opening of “Ti Chan Phoun; Prasap” (meaning “confluence”), a Christian selection of works from the private col- Develter; Lim Muy Theam evening in lection of Australian lawyer Larry Strange, who has lived in Cambodia since 2003. The show, which runs until the end of September, is a testament to the interest and activity around con- temporary art that has developed in late July, Siem Reap over the past year. “The art here is a new phenomenon. You can start to see the energy,” says Kang Hok, the youthful architect and owner of Treeline. The property, which opened in November 2018, is popu- lated with art – from permanent pieces like the lobby’s seed-pod sculpture by Sopheap Pich (arguably the country’s 38 SILVERKRIS.COM Silkwinds Sep 2019 36-43_Sept_Feature Siem Reap_v2.indd 38 DTPshare 3 15/8/19 4:11 PM Seet Siem Reap From left most famous modern artist) to room “Contemporary art started here around 2000, [the A miniature Bayon paintings by self-taught former archi- Khmer Rouge officially disbanded in 1999],” shares replica at Treeline; Sopheap tect Thang Sothea. Moeng Meta, the curator for “Ti Prasap”. “That’s when Pich is a “Siem Reap should be an art desti- artists came back from overseas; they were creative and renowned nation,” Kang declares. While the city experimental.” With pieces dating from 2005 to 2018, contemporary has yet to reach this ambitious goal, it’s “Ti Prasap” bridges the early stages of the movement artist; Theam’s House is run by undeniably a cultural magnet: The with the current era. Lim Muy Theam 12th-century Angkor Wat attracted This exhibition is just one facet of a burgeoning and his sister over 2.6 million tourists in 2018, movement. Artists and gallery owners in Siem Reap are drawn to its awe-inspiring complex of working tirelessly to build a strong contemporary art rigorous craftsmanship and liberated base. For example, Theam’s House gallery opened in expression in a country that’s recently 2011 on a bumpy unpaved road north of the city centre, suffered a fractured relationship with and is run by Lim Muy Theam and his charismatic sister artists. The 1960s represented a golden Maddy. Lim spent some years as a refugee in Thailand era of Cambodian arts, film and music, before living in France. He returned to Cambodia in until the brutal Khmer Rouge regime 1995. Though he studied interior design, he found joy in murdered 90% of artists in the 1970s. painting old temples, bas-reliefs and people – works Some escaped overseas, a few survived that tourists purchased. Lim now presides over a com- here, but a country with a rich heritage pound that includes a shop selling his signature lacquer was suddenly left without arts practi- sculptures and exhibition spaces showcasing his large tioners. Cambodia’s arts scene has had paintings and the historical objects he has collected from to restart from scratch. The contempo- around Cambodia and beyond. rary arts evolution in Siem Reap needs “Nine years ago, I was one of the few artists [in Siem to be nurtured as a bedrock for new tra- Reap]. Now there is new energy. That encourages ditions and collective memory. younger people to show their work,” he points out. » SILVERKRIS.COM 39 Silkwinds Sep 2019 39 43_R1 Sept_Feature Siem Reap_v2.indd 39 DTPshare 3 16/8/19 10:55 AM Seet Siem Reap 40 SILVERKRIS.COM Silkwinds Sep 2019 36-43_Sept_Feature Siem Reap_v2.indd 40 DTPshare 3 15/8/19 4:11 PM Seet Clockwise from facing page Sticking Nou Sary’s artwork focuses with on the experience of Cambodian tradition farmers; the Where to workshop at experience Theam’s House; Siem Reap’s inside One classic artistry Eleven Gallery Artisans Angkor Focusing on school in France before returning to Cambodia in time-tested arts and 2013. His work is primarily preoccupied with the crafts, this social experience of Cambodian farmers, and features thick enterprise employs brushstrokes depicting life in the rice fields through 800 artisans who the vivid use of colour. When asked about Siem make traditional Reap’s appeal as an artist’s residence, Nou says, “The silver jewellery, art scene is growing fast here, it’s not far from the stone carvings and countryside and it’s easy to get around.” more. artisansd Belgian artist and fashion designer Christian angkor.com Develter is also among the artists on show at One Eleven. Known for his Chin series – bright, modern “The tourist market here has grown depictions of the tattooed women of Myanmar’s Chin Angkor National and quality hotels open their spaces to tribe – Develter works from his home-studio a short Museum local artists. I think it will get better drive from the centre of Siem Reap. He’d lived in Experience the and better for artists in Siem Reap and Thailand for more than two decades before moving halcyon days of the I hope more and bigger dedicated gal- here three years ago. “There is a great creative com- Khmer empire leries open.” munity spirit here and I could see the number of peo- through literature and inscriptions. Some already have. One Eleven ple in Siem Reap looking for contemporary art was angkornational Gallery opened in September 2017 on increasing,” Develter explains. “Something special museum.com the Old Market Bridge roundabout, was happening, and I wanted to be a part of it.” promoting local and international con- Along with more artists and galleries, there is also temporary artists. Robina Hanley, the more guidance for buyers. Mirage Contemporary Art Angkor bubbly Irishwoman who co-owns the Space, for example, first debuted in 2016 as a café but Handicraft gallery – and runs Siem Reap Art Tours opened in a new location in September 2018 near the Association – has followed the rise of the art scene Royal Residence. Apart from exhibiting artwork by Shop locally made silverware, bronze from the start. “I have lived in Siem Khmer artists, they also offer tours of local artists’ and wood carvings, Reap for 13 years and have seen many houses. “There’s a large influx of local and interna- hand-woven textiles galleries open and close, some for per- tional travellers coming to Siem Reap,” Mirage direc- and paintings. sonal reasons like illness or the owner tor and co-founder Siv Serey shares. “That » aha-kh.com relocating, some not giving themselves the right amount of time to establish their brand,” she shares. However, over the last two years, Hanley says she’s seen a greater increase in the enthusiasm and com- mitment required to open independent visual art spaces. “Gallery owners now understand that just opening a space is not enough, they need to get their brand out there, promote their artists, make the right connections through the press, local businesses and high-end tour companies,” she adds. “This is what is happening at the moment and it is working.” Among One Eleven Gallery’s stable is Nou Sary, an internationally exhib- ited painter who lived through the Khmer Rouge era. He made it to art SILVERKRIS.COM 41 Silkwinds Sep 2019 36-43_Sept_Feature Siem Reap_v2.indd 41 DTPshare 3 15/8/19 4:12 PM Seet Siem Reap From left Phirom Styles is a former tuk-tuk driver turned photographer; Mirage Contemporary Art Space; artworks by Christian Develter drives the market and I feel people are more and more Nat Di Maggio. When describing the interested in Cambodian contemporary art.” challenges in the local art scene, Hanley’s Siem Reap Art Tours, too, offers tai- McIlkenny was matter-of-fact about lor-made itineraries for visitors looking to get better the destruction left behind by the acquainted with the city’s art scene. These tours offer Khmer Rouge. He says, “The people clients a chance to meet gallerists and artists, visit studio that became artists had no role models, spaces and see guided exhibitions. no mentors.” The duo drew on their The growing interest is also evidenced by two galler- connections to bring UK street artists ies that opened within a week of each other last like Pure Evil and Fin DAC over to get December.