A collection can represent many different things; it can be a statement, contribution, research, even a love story. In the case of retired German doctor, Christoph Bendick, who has worked in Phnom Penh for 25 years, it’s the story of an encounter with a country whose painful recent history is interlaced with the resilience and strength of its people.
I have interviewed the collector for the Singapore-based magazine Plural.
Here is the link to the interview
Read More
It was February last year that I embarked on a month-long journey to Cambodia for a reportage on the local contemporary art scene. During that time on the field I realized 20 interviews in Siem Reap, Battambang and Phnom Penh, meet incredible people, and had the privilege to visit artist’s studio and local art spaces.
Among these, Java Arts in Phnom Penh is certainly one of the most important, and the name of its founder and director Dana Langlois was one of the first on my list of the must-interview. A powerhouse in her own right, Dana gave me her perspectives on the Cambodian art scene. CoBo has just published our conversation.
It took one year to publish most of the material, article by article, mostly on CoBo, but also on Culture360 and Art Republik. I love this methodology of work I have established, from gathering the seeds (aka researching on the field), sowing and watering (working on the material and reflecting on it throughout the year) and harvesting (seeing the pieces published on magazines.) It’s a thing of beauty, and I try to be present to each phase of this process. Hopefully, throughout this year I manage to share what I have learned about Cambodian contemporary art, and highlight what’s interesting with it.
And now to Dana’s interview on CoBo, hope you will enjoy it:
Here is the link to the interview
Read More
Sometimes when I start an art exploration in a new country of Southeast Asia, I can be lucky enough to meet a figure which becomes a guide of sorts. This person usually helps me entangle the key mechanisms of the art system, and understand the psychology of local artists.
In Cambodia, this figure was Khiang Hei. In this interview published on CoBo, we tackled the most pressing issues together in the emerging Cambodian art scene. With an understanding of the local hardships, as well as a very pragmatic spirit, Khiang suggested possible solutions, some of which he has implemented himself over the years.
The piece is part of my reportage on Cambodian contemporary art.
Here is the link to the interview
Read More
In the third installment of CoBo’s series on Cambodian photographers, I spoke with artist Sophal Neak, a rising talent in the Cambodian scene. This piece is part of my reportage on Cambodian contemporary art.
Here is the link to the interview
Read More
My interview with Cambodian artist Svay Sareth, which took place at the beginning of the year in Siem Reap, has just been published on the webmagazine and platform for collectors CoBo Social. The article is part of my reportage on Cambodian contemporary art.
Here is the link to the interview
Read More
At the beginning of the year I visited Cambodian artist Sopheap Pich in his Phnom Penh studio. He explained his view of contemporary art in Cambodia and what young artists need in order to grow the local art scene. The article is part of my reportage on Cambodian contemporary art.
Here is the link to the interview
Read More
I can’t be more happy and grateful when I see a new article of mine on the homepage of CoBo Social. It still gives me the same buzz of 10 years ago, when I was just starting out writing for online magazines.
This interview with Srey Bandol, co-founder of the art school Phare Ponleu Selapak in Battambang, Cambodia, is particularly rewarding because it is a part of the reportage on Cambodian contemporary art I did at the beginning of the year. I really hope that through these articles CoBo and I will be able to give a more complete picture of the art scene in this fascinating country.
Here is the link to the interview
Read More
Here we go with a new article from my Cambodia reportage; it’s so great to see all the fruits from my research coming out little by little and share all this beauty – this time through the web platform Culture360 which is all about creating trans-continental connections.
And I’m super grateful to have met art manager and Kon Len Khnhom founder Met Moeng during my trip to Phnom Penh. Coming from an art system where people don’t have to do things in the arts out of necessity, but more for individualistic reasons, it’s very heartening to see someone who daily embodies the word “service”. Through founding her own art space Kon Len Khnhom Meta really stretched herself beyond her limits, proving that it’s possible to do it if you are willing to let go of control and you are guided by sheer passion.
Coming into contact with her passion and determination was a real blast, and keeps on inspiring me!
Read More
Little by little parts of my Cambodia research/reportage are coming out in the press: here is a piece on the Phnom Penh-based supergroup Stiev Selapak which has just been published on the Singapore-based art magazine Art Republik. Can’t wait to have the physical copy in my hands!
Here is the link to the article
Read More
Art Republik Issue 17 is just out. You will find there my article on collectorship in Cambodia, where I have interviewed curator Reaksmey Yean, dancer and collector Sophiline Cheam Shapiro and artist Sophal Neak, discussing the concept on building an art collection in a country where the art infrastructure is still absent.
Here is the link to the pdf version of the piece
Read More
Naima Morelli is an arts writer and journalist specialized in contemporary art from Asia-Pacific and the MENA region.
She has written for the Financial Times, Al-Jazeera, The Art Newspaper, ArtAsiaPacific, Internazionale and Il Manifesto, among others, and she is a regular contributor to Plural Art Mag, Middle East Monitor and Middle East Eye as well as writing curatorial texts for galleries.
She is the author of three books on Southeast Asian contemporary art.
Reach out: contact [at] naimamorelli.com
