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| "Mother’s Kiss," acrylic on canvas, 2012 (Courtesy Utterly Art) |
October 8, 2012
By Sonia Kolesnikov-Jessop, ARTINFO
SINGAPORE — With a subtle nod to the Surrealist masters, Cambodian artist Oeur Sokuntevy’s works are a dissection of her dreams, fears, and wishes. “Fantasies,” her latest solo show, is a powerful narrative on the life of women in Cambodia today as they juggle their desires and obligations, facing never-ending demands.
Sokuntevy works from the sub-conscious, embedding symbols and codes in each dreamscape and while she previously painted only on paper, she started painting on canvas last year.
“I like to draw on love and relationships and what is happening right now with my life or what’s happening with Cambodian living. I feel the situation between men and women is a bit unfair: women have to work, cook, take care of the children; and men sometimes have it easier. I understand some women think it’s ok and just have to accept. I can sometimes too, but at other times I feel it’s a bit unfair and I draw a lot about it,” the artist explains.
In “Never Enough,” a woman dressed in a beautiful traditional dress is working hard making a traditional desert of flavored shaved ice, ice kachang, and she is faced with several open hands as the people expect to be fed, while in “Fantasy,” a poor woman living in a traditional wooden house in a rural village is dreaming of wearing sexy lingerie.
Sokuntevy studied painting at Phare Ponleu Selpak in Battambang and moved to Phnom Penh in 2007. She is considered one of the leading female contemporary artists currently showing in Cambodia, and was included in the Incheon Women Artists’ Biennale (Korea) in 2009.
“FANTASIES” is running at Utterly Art gallery until October 14, 2012
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