With a subtle nod to the Surrealist masters, Oeur Sokuntevy once again takes the feminine psyche and splays it across painted canvases, a dissection of dreams, fears and wishes. Fantasies, as a personal and wider narrative, exists at the intersection between desire and obligation, a conflict and burden. A woman offers her husband for sale, another enhances her lips and breasts and yet another is caught in the nightmare of caring for a sick child. Like the surrealists before her, Sokuntevy works from the sub-conscious.
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Ping Vey is a coming of age story. It moves not in a linear direction but through the fluctuating emotional landscape of a young man. The scenes, thick with symbolism and references, reveal the dreams, fears and longing of the main character, represented as a pig-figure (a reference to the Cambodian zodiac). Through her intuitive style, Sokuntevy Oeur explores this psychological terrain—a shift that she says is not restricted by gender and can resonate with many stages in one’s life.
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Sokuntevy's refined and highly individualistic painting style, mostly in acrylic on paper, combines a modern approach with folk elements found in Cambodian art. Her clearly defined shapes and strong colours show her awareness and appreciation of her homeland’s art history. It is also her country’s traditions and superstitions, projected from her subconscious. The animals reference her culture’s deeply rooted relationship with nature, belief in reincarnation and indubitably the zodiac sign.
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This series explores the complicated layers of desire, love and hate. Oeur Sokuntevy boldly explores the intimate exchanges between man and woman. She builds a narrative from a woman’s perspective and presents an empowered female role, contradictory to perceptions and expectations of Asian cultures.
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