Blessings
Spring has come and gone and in the middle was Cambodian New Year or Choul Chnam Thmey. This year, I was lucky enough to take part in an event to highlight this special time of year for those who celebrate the Buddhist New Year in Southeast Asia.
I remember discovering DCMO (Don’t Call me Oriental) on Instagram. They had curated an exhibition and store at The Steam Room East showcasing work from UK artists with ties to Hong Kong. It was a platform for elevating East and Southeast Asian (ESEA) artists in the UK. It allowed me to see this multitude of ESEA talent in the UK that hadn’t really been profiled and celebrated before. I was excited about all these creatives of a similar diaspora to me, and wanted to take part too so I messaged Mildred Cheng, founder of DCMO. Weirdly, it was the first time I’d introduced myself as a British Cambodian artist. I expressed how amazing this initiative was and that I’d love to take part in a future venture. Funnily enough, she was thinking of curating another exhibition in April for Buddhist New Year and to include artists from Burma, Laos, Cambodia and Thailand. I said, great! She asked if I knew any Southeast Asian creatives or businesses - err - none! I grew up in multicultural London with lots of Asian friends but none who were actively creative and of the Southeast Asian diaspora particularly. My aunt knew the very small Cambodian community in East London and said she would find out. According to the 2011 Census, there were approximately 1,000 Cambodians living in the UK. I knew some of these people from the community I grew up with - parents, brothers, aunties, uncles and cousins but no one beyond that.
I knew no other UK based Southeast Asian artist. Oh, hang on, my mum! Since she retired two years ago, she hasn’t stopped drawing and painting. So that was two of us but I wanted to find more of us. I did lots of callouts, asked friends, family and contacted various UK organisations in the hope there was at least one other UK Cambodian creative out there. No responses.
After a few quiet weeks thinking it wouldn’t go ahead, amazingly, Mildred managed to secure some venues AND rustle up some other UK based artists, designers and makers from Laos, Burma, Thailand. The plan was an art trail consisting of exhibitions in the windows of Thai Spice, Korat Thai Cafe and Lahpet restaurants as well as a pop up shop at Homework Store.
Photo credits: Mildred Cheng and Morokoth Fournier des Corats
The theme was based on the New Year festivities, exploring how people celebrate. In Thailand they celebrate Songkran, in Laos it’s Pi Mai, in Myanmar theirs is called Thingyan. Choul Chnam Thmey or Khmer New Year is a traditional Cambodian celebration that takes place over three days in April to coincide with the end of the harvesting season so that farmers can enjoy the fruits of their labour and relax before the rainy season begins. An altar is normally set up in the home, especially when we're unable to visit a local Buddhist temple. The New Year is celebrated by lighting incense and making offerings in the form of flowers and food. In my poster design, I've shown the rumduol flower which is the national flower of Cambodia, valued for its fragrance and a selection of typical fruit common to Cambodia and Southeast Asia. The krama is a traditional Cambodian garment with a gingham pattern, mainly worn as a scarf, it has many other uses but here, I have incorporated it as a table cover.
Illustration of Cambodia's national fish, the Giant Barb and typical scene of the Tonlé Sap lake which is connected to the Mekong river. This image was used on a collaborative t-shirt design raising funds for Mutual Aid Myanmar.
Other participating artists, designers and makers included Clio Isadora, Holly St Clair, Jessie Thavonekham, Ohn Mar Win, April Keomorokot, Charlotte Munro, June Chanpoomidole, Isabella Damrongkul, Mina Owen, Nok Vickers and my mum, Makalou Fournier des Corats. It was so great connecting with these creatives with our shared love for Asia, food and how durian either delights or divides :-o
