Speaking in Silence
Ny&Khun
Cambodia
Performance: 7pm, Friday, 6 January 2023
Exhibition: 06 - 16 January 2023
Venue: Chocolate Garden (Siem Reap)
Live Performance:
Date: Friday, 6th January 2023
Time & Venue: 7.00pm at Chocolate Garden
With “Speaking in Silence” dancers NY&KHUN add their own photography to their artistic practice and exploration. Five images selected from the photography series “Speaking in Silence” are created based on the narrative stories of the artists. The artists use photography as a tool of expression. They explore societal pressure and mental health issues in their photo-based self-portraits. They create works in response to what they felt, and experienced and inspired by their life and the reality in society. NY&KHUN’s work addresses the relationship between humanity and memories; they’re vital components of individual and social issues.
When you’re under family or societal pressure, you want people to hear your voice, but no one wants to hear it. Most people plainly ignore it; you become “speaking in silence”. You can’t talk about your situation and express it to others. You feel loneliness and darkness. At that moment, it may develop into a mental health problem. The works reveal how different people experience depression differently.
The opening on Friday 6 January at 7pm will be accompanied by NY&KHUN’s short performance “How do you think it feels”, which they think covers the same feelings as their photo series.
Curation by Moeng Meta
Venue Partner
Artist Biography
Ny&Khun are Ny Lai and Khun Sreynoch born and raised in Siem Reap. Since 2012, they have been working in their hometown studio as part of New Cambodian Artists, developing their own style of contemporary dance. For one year they work from their “StudioNow” at Aquation on Diamond-Island Phnom Penh, shaping their future and creating contemporary art, predominantly through dance and photography. Ny&Khun have represented Cambodia in performances and cultural arts festivals in South Korea, Thailand, Laos, Singapore, The Netherlands, Italy, and Switzerland, and are scheduled for workshops and performances in Germany, England, The Netherlands, Malaysia and Singapore in 2023.
Curator Biography
Moeng Meta is an independent curator working on contemporary art in Cambodia with an interest in creating a platform for artists, building audiences and art collectors. Her curatorial practice is shaped by collaboration and dialogues with artists. She was selected for curatorial programs including Terms and Conditions of Writing and Publishing Art in Southeast Asia – convened by Afterall and Southeast of Now (2021), Uncommon Pursuits, San Art, Saigon, Vietnam (2018), The Curators Academy, The Goethe-Institute Singapore and TheatreWorks, Singapore (2018).
She lives and works between Phnom Penh and Siem Reap, Cambodia.