Exhibitions
Location: Air gallery, The Factory Phnom Penh
Apr 27 - May 28, 2022
All images courtesy of the artist and Sa Sa Art Projects
This exhibition is organised by Sa Sa Art Projects in partnership with FT gallery, The Factory Phnom Penh “Quest” presents a new body of work by Battambang artist Chea Sereyroth who weaves together stories of people who have to move or migrate to survive. Having learned the traditional Romjek mat weaving method—a slowly disappearing practice—and produced during the last two years of the Covid-19 pandemic, Sereyroth introduces 33 mats with acrylic, sawdust, mud, and soil, narrating stories of evictions, migrations, food security, and spirituality. “Quest” testifies to Sereyroth’s commitment to a locally conscious practice and amplification of voices of the vulnerable populations. While the work is rooted in the local experience of the impact of Covid-19, they also speak to historical and current regional and global crises that force various forms of migrations.
Chea Sereyroth (b. 1990, Battambang province) studied painting at Phare Ponleu Selpak in 2005. In 2008, he attended a workshop with international artist Sera Ing and artist Vann Nath under the theme "The Membory of Khmer Rouge Regime in Cambodia", leading by Soko Phay-Vakalis at the Bophana Center in Phnom Penh. After graduating from Battambang Institute of Technology (BIT) in 2012, he began working as a graphic designer and artist in Sonleuk Thmey Studio at Phare Ponleu Selpak. In 2013, he became a graphic design teacher at Phare Ponleu Selpak and he has participated in many art exhibitions. In 2014, he participated in SPOT ART, the Southeast Asia's only international art festival for artists under 30 years old in Singapore. The same year, he had the solo exhibition “Disaster” in Phnom Penh's Romeet Gallery. In2019 he had a solo exhibition “Ricefield Mirage” at Battambang's Sangker Gallery and Sa Sa Art Projects in Phnom Penh.