The Bomb Ponds by Vandy Rattana
SA SA BASSAC opens with The Bomb Ponds by Vandy Rattana 17th Feb 6pm
The Bomb Ponds
Vandy Rattana
There is a Khmer proverb that says: You can hear something a thousand times and not know it, yet if you see it with your eyes just once, you know. - Vandy Rattana
Between 1964 and 1975 the United States of America military dropped 2,756,941 tons (230,516 sorties on 113,716 sites) of bombs across politically neutral Cambodia. This figure went unacknowledged until 2000 when Bill Clinton traveled to Vietnam and quietly released previously classified Air Force data on American bombings in former Indochina.
Dissatisfied with the level of documentation produced on the subject, Vandy Rattana traveled to the ten Cambodian provinces most severely bombed in the U.S. military campaign during the Vietnam War. Along the way, he engaged villagers in locating and testifying to the existence of the craters made by the bombings, known in the Khmer language as the "bomb ponds".
The resultant work is a series of nine quiet, mysteriously serene landscape photographs and a confronting one-channel documentary film in which villagers describe their memories of the bombings as well as their relationship to the ponds today. The Bomb Ponds invites audiences to connect with both the fragility and the resilience of the people and the land, and to reconsider the historical thread of America's actions during the Vietnam War and subsequently, similar acts of violence worldwide.
Born into the tenuous recovery period after the official fall of the Khmer Rouge, Vandy Rattana (b.1980 Phnom Penh) is concerned with the lack of physical documentation accounting for the stories, traits, and monuments unique to his culture. His serial work employs a range of analog cameras and formats, straddling the line between strict photojournalism and artistic practice. The extensive nature of his subject matter forges against the plethora of stymied documentation on Cambodia today, and makes critical connections between present-day narratives and the historical value inherent in chronicling the contemporary moment.
Selected exhibitions by Vandy Rattana:
The Bomb Ponds, Hessel Museum, NY (2010); Fire of the Year, The 6th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art (APT6), Brisbane, Australia (2009); Walking Through, Sa Sa Art Gallery, Phnom Penh, Cambodia (2009); TADAIMA: Looking for Sweet Home, Kyushu University, Japan (2009); Magnetic Power, Asean-Korean Center, Seoul, Korea (2009); Forever Until Now: Contemporary Art From Cambodia, 10 Chancery Gallery, Hong Kong (2009); Another Asia, Noorderlicht Photo Festival, The Netherlands (2006).
The Bomb Ponds by Vandy Rattana
SA SA BASSAC opens with The Bomb Ponds by Vandy Rattana 17th Feb 6pm
The Bomb Ponds Vandy Rattana
There is a Khmer proverb that says: You can hear something a thousand times and not know it, yet if you see it with your eyes just once, you know. - Vandy Rattana
Between 1964 and 1975 the United States of America military dropped 2,756,941 tons (230,516 sorties on 113,716 sites) of bombs across politically neutral Cambodia. This figure went unacknowledged until 2000 when Bill Clinton traveled to Vietnam and quietly released previously classified Air Force data on American bombings in former Indochina.
Dissatisfied with the level of documentation produced on the subject, Vandy Rattana traveled to the ten Cambodian provinces most severely bombed in the U.S. military campaign during the Vietnam War. Along the way, he engaged villagers in locating and testifying to the existence of the craters made by the bombings, known in the Khmer language as the "bomb ponds".
The resultant work is a series of nine quiet, mysteriously serene landscape photographs and a confronting one-channel documentary film in which villagers describe their memories of the bombings as well as their relationship to the ponds today. The Bomb Ponds invites audiences to connect with both the fragility and the resilience of the people and the land, and to reconsider the historical thread of America's actions during the Vietnam War and subsequently, similar acts of violence worldwide.
Born into the tenuous recovery period after the official fall of the Khmer Rouge, Vandy Rattana (b.1980 Phnom Penh) is concerned with the lack of physical documentation accounting for the stories, traits, and monuments unique to his culture. His serial work employs a range of analog cameras and formats, straddling the line between strict photojournalism and artistic practice. The extensive nature of his subject matter forges against the plethora of stymied documentation on Cambodia today, and makes critical connections between present-day narratives and the historical value inherent in chronicling the contemporary moment.
Selected exhibitions by Vandy Rattana:
The Bomb Ponds, Hessel Museum, NY (2010); Fire of the Year, The 6th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art (APT6), Brisbane, Australia (2009); Walking Through, Sa Sa Art Gallery, Phnom Penh, Cambodia (2009); TADAIMA: Looking for Sweet Home, Kyushu University, Japan (2009); Magnetic Power, Asean-Korean Center, Seoul, Korea (2009); Forever Until Now: Contemporary Art From Cambodia, 10 Chancery Gallery, Hong Kong (2009); Another Asia, Noorderlicht Photo Festival, The Netherlands (2006).
Fwd: Love, Lust and Loathing - A Valentine's Day Art Happening
6-9pm Monday, February 14, 2011
Java Café & Gallery
56 Sihanouk Blvd, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Main gallery: paintings by Oeur Sokuntevy
Downstairs gallery: 3d works, drawings and light boxes by Nicolas C.
Grey
http://javaarts.org/2011/02/love-lust-and-loathing-%e2%80%93-a-valentine%e2%80%99s-day-happening/ Dispense with any heart-shaped expectations, this exhibition is not
your typical celebration of love. Featuring the work of Oeur Sokuntevy
(Tevy) and Nicolas C. Grey, LOVE LUST AND LOATHING explores the darker
and more complex aspects of love. Negotiating ideas of love and loss,
togetherness and loneliness, and the capacity of feeling to build or
destroy, this exhibition provides a pause for thought amongst the
traditions and romantic paraphernalia of Valentine's Day.
Tevy presents an autobiographical series of work, which tells the
story of a former relationship and her current one. Whilst she has
often referenced herself in her surrealist images, these works on
paper which have never previously been exhibited include literal
representations of herself for the first time. Through her unerringly
honest and direct style, this series evokes the raw emotion of being
in a relationship and of its demise.
Nicolas C Grey's work draws you in to his fantastically imaginative,
contemplative world. Both his portraiture and wall sculptures are far
from conventional comments on love, romance and attachment. His use of
portraiture, some including the use of passport photographs, are
products of his deep grappling with what constitutes personal
identity. They are immersed in the sinister, bleaker aspects of
humanity, where love may seem to be absent, ambiguous, and associated
with suffering.
LOVE, LUST and LOATHING provides a cautionary tale of romance and the
fear involved of giving and receiving too much or too little both in
love and in life.
For the opening, the children's room playroom will be transformed into
a fortune teller's saloon, where a clairvoyant will be on hand to
provide you with love predictions, if you dare...
(Text by Natalie Pace)
And if you are looking for something a bit sweeter, the Java bakery
has created a Valentine Cookie garden--something sweet for your
sweetheart!
Event: Help Cambodian Prisoners
Dear Friends of Meta House!
"Meta" means "loving kindness", "Karuna" means "compassion" in Khmer language. On the occasion of Valentine's day we like you to show compassion and kindness to 1480 inmates of Kampong Cham's CC3 prison.
SUNDAY, 13/02, from 6PM, Meta House hosts the charity event "ROCK'N ROLL SHARING SMILES": HELP CAMBODIAN PRISONERS!" featuring Khmer pop stars Yani, Boy and Ena, actress Kol Davy, 60's movie star Dy Saveth, famous singer Ek Side and eight Cambodian fashion models. Khmer youth will dress up in original 60's fashion and dance the night away.
On the rooftop we screen documentaries about prisons worldwide such as LOUIS THEROUX'S "BEHIND BARS" or STAN FEINGOLD'S "PRISONERS OF AGE".
NGOs and aid workers are asked to hold short presentations about the realities in Cambodian prisons.
An invitation is attached.
We ask for a donation of USD 2. The money will be used to buy soap, toothbrushes and toothpaste for the prisoners. On Valentine's Day (Monday, 14th) we will drive to Kampong Cham and hand the goods over to them.
Please support this good cause! You can also bring soap, toothbrushes and toothpaste or donate more than just 2 Dollars...
All the best,
Nico Mesterharm/director
Meta House Phnom Penh
#37, Sothearos Blvd.
Tel. 010 - 312 333
Call for Papers: Southeast Asia and World History
Call for Papers
Southeast Asia and World History
January 2-4, 2012, Siem Reap, Cambodia
The World History Association, in conjunction with Pannasastra University of
Cambodia, announces a symposium on the world-historical significance of
Southeast Asia. The symposium seeks to generate dialog among scholars within
and outside of the region regarding its place in world history. It seeks to
identify those world history processes that have application to the region's
past, present and future and stimulate discussion of world history
methodology and pedagogy in the Southeast Asian context.
Among the topics that may be addressed at the symposium are: the nature of
world history; the processes of indigenization, localization, and
syncretism; the decline and fall of classical societies; Diaspora and gender
studies; the colonial experience; nationalism; conflict and post-conflict
studies; trade; economy; religion and culture; art; regional questions in
global perspective such as borderlands; regional diplomatic relations;
investment, tourism and resource management issues; the environment;
comparative genocide; and models for World History and global studies in
terms of scholarship and instruction. These topics are examples only and
should not be taken to exclude proposals on other topics. Scholars from all
disciplines are encouraged to submit proposals. Select refereed papers from
the conference will be published in the e-journal "World History Connected"
(University of Illinois Press) and a book project is planned.
The conference will be held minutes from the Archeological Conservation Area
that includes Angkor Wat. Pre/post and concurrent symposium activities will
be structured so as to permit tours of these and other local sites which
connect them to the wider region and the world.
Panels will meet in air conditioned rooms on the newly-built Pannasastra
University of Cambodia's Siem Reap campus. The time limit for presenting
papers will be 20 minutes, and the deadline for submitting papers to the
session moderator is three weeks in advance of the conference. Individual
paper proposals must include a 100-200 word summary with the title of the
paper, name, institutional affiliation, e-mail address, phone and fax
numbers, and brief curriculum vitae, all integrated into a single file,
preferably in MS-Word. Proposals for entire sessions or panels must contain
the same information for each participant, as well as contact information
and a brief C.V. for the moderator if you suggest one. (The program
committee can help find moderators, if necessary.) There is a limited
number of AV-equipped rooms available so it is essential that you indicate
your need for audiovisual equipment (and what kind) in your proposal. All
meeting rooms are air conditioned.
Please send your completed proposal with the following in the subject line
of the email: WHS, followed by Your LAST NAME (family), and then Your First
name, then short paper/panel name to the WHA Symposia coordinator, Maryanne
Rhett, at mrhett@monmouth.edu.
Individuals wishing to moderate a session should send a statement of
interest, contact information, and a brief C.V. to the program coordinator.
The deadline for the submission of paper and panel proposals is September
1st, 2011.
All panelists must register to be on the program.
The language of the conference is English.
A rolling acceptance process will be in place to assist panelists to solicit
travel support from their home institutions and organizations.
Unfortunately, the conference does not have funds to subsidize scholars'
travel and lodging at the meeting.
Registration rates, benefits of registration for WHA members, and waivers
for Cambodian teachers, in-service Teachers Across Borders members and
others will be posted on the WHA registration site shortly.
Please check the World History Association website (http://www.thewha.org/)
for registration information, low-cost housing options and both conference
and optional touring logistics information (to be posted shortly). Excellent
inexpensive lodging, food, shopping and entertainment are all available
close to the conference site. Local transportation is available in the
range of $2.00 per ride and can be arranged for $20.00 for an entire day.
The weather in Siem Reap in early January is ideal: dry with cool mornings,
high in the mid 80s at mid-day. Siem Reap is famous for its Pub Street
district, a five minute walk from the conference site. It features sidewalk
restaurants, cafes and shops; most visitors make evening strolls there a
habit. Siem Reap still has the flavor of a small town, albeit flooded with
both backpackers and traditional tourists whose presence has led to
widespread spoken English and Western-style supermarkets. Heath and crime
issues are minimal (See State Department advisories and your travel medicine
specialist before undertaking any travel). Tourist visas are inexpensive.
Siem Reap's international airport is serviced by a variety of airlines from
most Asian hubs. Most international travel passes through Bangkok's
international airport. Because of the International Dateline, attendees
departing January 4 will be able to make connections permitting
participation at the American Historical Association in Chicago later that
week.
