Meet the Festival Artists & Murals
The S’Art Festival 2019 also had the unique opportunity to collaborate with the Thai artists through the “Experiencing ASEAN Pop Culture” event organized by the Tourism Authority of Thailand. The project aimed to promote ASEAN’s unique cultures with a fresh perspective on gastronomy, fashion, literature, music, sports, media, and other activities.
To organize the festival, Phare Ponleu Selpak worked partnership with the Tourism Authority of Thailand, the the Giant Puppet Project, Rom Bak Battle, the Battambang Department of Tourism, the Department of Culture and Fine Arts, Sangker Art Gallery and Romcheik 5 Art Space.
Learn more about the S’Art Festival mural artists and their paintings found throughout Battambang in descriptions below.
Workers’ Hands – 2CHOEY
Animal Farm – 2CHOEY
Hands Together – Koeurm Kolab
Street Food – Mil Chankrim & Hour Seyha
Little Monkey – Tor Vutha
Bat in the Sun – Poy Chunly
Culture Transection – Buth Sonrin
Battambang Heart – Konstantin Komardin
Apsara – Chifumi Krohom
Worker’s Hands
2CHOEY (@2choey) – Thailand
Location: On the pink wall next to Battambang Grace Center Church
About the Mural
The two figures in this mural (called “fingies” by the artist) face each other in a sign of friendship and peace. They are adorned with the traditional Cambodian krama around their waists. They also hold wheat and a sickle in their hands, representing that they are local farmers or peasants. The bold colors recall pop culture and its artistic inspirations.
About the Artist
2CHOEY is a Thai artist based in Bangkok. He studied urban architecture and began his career as an art director for advertising before moving into local and international street art and art exhibiting. His iconic “fingies” reinterpret pop culture icons as hands, fists, and fingers. Among his many accolades, 2CHOEY won a competition organized by AirAsia to design the exterior artwork for one of their flagship A320-200 aircrafts. His work has been featured in numerous publications and media, including National Geographic, Lürzer’s Archive, Designboom, and Ads of the World.
Animal Farm
2CHOEY (@2choey) – Thailand
Location: In the alley between the two buildings of the Seng Hout Hotel
About the Mural
The two figures in the mural (called “fingies” by the artist) face each other in a sign of friendship and peace. One of them is sharing his knowledge through a book he’s handing to the other figure. The book can pass over the hole, just as knowledge and culture can pass over countries’ borders.
About the Artist
2CHOEY is a Thai artist based in Bangkok. He studied urban architecture and began his career as an art director for advertising before moving into local and international street art and art exhibiting. His iconic “fingies” reinterpret pop culture icons as hands, fists, and fingers. Among his many accolades, 2CHOEY won a competition organized by AirAsia to design the exterior artwork for one of their flagship A320-200 aircrafts. His work has been featured in numerous publications and media, including National Geographic, Lürzer’s Archive, Designboom, and Ads of the World.
Apsara
Chifumi Krohom (@chifumi_gram) – Cambodia
About the Mural
Chifumi has painted an Asian-style mural of hands performing the traditional apsara dance. They seem to be inviting the lotus flowers to reach for the sky.
About the Artist
Chifumi Krohom is a French artist currently living in Cambodia. His murals are inspired by Asian culture. Through his works, which are inspired by Eastern traditions, he explores Asian arts and culture. Krohom’s appropriation of non-Western bodies and symbols makes his work easily recognisable.
Hands Together
Koeurm Kolab (@roserose596) – Cambodia
Location: On St 2.5 about 100 meters in front of Wat Domrey Sor
About the Mural
This mural depicts clasped hands donating books to the public, representing the spread of knowledge and education. A series of cords connect the books and characters to the hands. This represents that knowledge is a gift from person to person; it links people and gives them a common consciousness.
About the Artist
Koeurm Kolab graduated from the Visual and Applied Arts School at Phare Ponleu Selpak twice! Once in 2007 with an emphasis on graphic design, and once in 2010 with an emphasis on animation design. She also received a diploma in visual arts from the École Pivaut of Applied Arts and Design in France in 2014. She now teaches visual arts and animation at Phare Ponleu Selpak.
Her works explore humanity as well as environmental and social change. Kolab won the gold prize at White Canvas Cambodia 2020, an event organized by Social Compass Cambodia.
Recent exhibitions of her work have taken place at: Penh Art in Phnom Penh; Anonymous Heirloom, an international online art exhibition; Sangskar Bhatr and Lalit Kala Akademy in New Delhi; White Canvas Cambodia in Siem Reap; the Danwon Art Museum in Ansan, South Korea; and Cambodians of the Rice Fields in Paris.
Street Food
Mil Chankrim (@chankrim) & Hour Seyha – Cambodia
Location: On Pub St (St 2.5) in the alley next to Mey Mey Cosmetic
About the Mural
This mural depicts a street food stall with diners seated at a table. This layout is typical of Cambodian towns and villages, where street food is ubiquitous. Seyha’s style can be seen in the characters’ direct, piercing gazes and in the choice of colors. There are also many color gradations, which is common in Chankrim’s work.
About the Artists
Mil Chankrim was born in Banteay Meanchey, Cambodia in 1991. In 2013, he graduated from the Phare Ponleu Selpak Visual and Applied Arts School. He currently works at Romcheik 5 Art Space in Battambang, Cambodia.
Hour Seyha was born in a refugee camp in Thailand when Cambodia was still affected by the Khmer Rouge takeover. He returned to Cambodia as a child to support his family, dropping out of school in sixth grade and taking on a series of odd jobs. However, he went back to school in Battambang when he was 15, with the help of an NGO. His highly emotional paintings, done in shades of red, yellow, and blue contain references to the difficult times he experienced as a child laborer.
Little Monkey
Tor Vutha (@torvutha) – Cambodia
Location: On Pub St (St 2.5) in the alley next to Mey Mey Cosmetic
About the Mural
This mural depicts a human with a monkey’s head, reminiscent of the costumes worn by men during traditional Khmer dances. The figure seems to contemplate the street, watching passers-by with mischievous eyes. His face may appear frightening, but his posture reflects a relaxed demeanor. According to the artist, this painting represents the advantages and disadvantages of technology to Cambodian society. He chose these colors and shapes because he wanted to show how to keep both the traditional and modern aspects of Khmer culture together. It is a hybrid of traditional Khmer painting and modern pop styles.
About the Artist
Tor Vutha was born in 1975 and grew up in a refugee camp on the edge of Thailand. There, he took drawing classes as a form of art therapy. He has staged scenographic circus shows in France, Spain, Germany, Switzerland, Algeria, and Reunion Island. From 2012 to 2013, he continued his art studies at the Ecole supérieure d’arts appliqués Pivaut in France. He has painted murals for churches and pagodas in Thailand. He has participated in artistic residency programs in Bordeaux, Reunion Island, Thailand, and at the Vermont Studio Center. Today, Tor Vutha is co-founder and deputy director of pedagogy at the Phare Ponleu Selpak Visual and Applied Arts School in Battambang. After trying different paths, he decided to participate fully in teaching at Phare in order to share his experiences. His work has been exhibited at the French Embassy (2018) and the French Cultural Institute in Cambodia (2017), in Bangkok and Krabi, Thailand (2012), in France (2010), in Colombia (2010), and at the United Nations headquarters in New York (2010).
Bat in the Sun
Poy Chhunly (@poychhunly) – Cambodia
Location: On Pub St (St 2.5) in the alley across from Mey Mey Cosmetic
About the Mural
This mural depicts metal-masked bats flying away from the sun. These bats reference Phnom Sampov mountain and its famous temples and bat cave near Battambang, which the artist hopes that all viewers will get to visit some day.
About the Artist
Battambang-born artist Poy Chhunly has devoted his life to teaching, drawing, and animation at Phare Ponleu Selpak. He has a background in film study and eagerly awaits the opportunity to pursue his lifelong dream of becoming a filmmaker. Chhunly believes in the power of urban art to transform the old into the new.
Culture Transection
Buth Sonrin (@buthsonrin) – Cambodia
Location: On Pub St (St 2.5) in the first alley on the left as you walk from Psar Nat
About the Mural
The futuristic Cultural Transection mixes Khmer and Japanese culture. The character is representative of traditional Khmer culture, and the red circle is reminiscent of the Japanese flag. The blooming lotus represents the brightness of life continuing into the future. The red line behind the character signifies sustainable development and the progress of the arts.
About the Artist
Buth Sonrin is a Battambang artist. He currently teaches graphic design at the Visual and Applied Arts School at Phare Ponleu Selpak.
Battambang Heart
Konstantin Komardin (@komardin_konstantin_art) – Cambodia
About the Mural
In this marker-drawn mural, Konstantin has drawn a rounded, kaleidoscopic vision of Battambang’s iconic streets and buildings. You can see the central market building on the left. In this drawing, you can see his passion for comics with its multitude of details and unique style.
About the Artist
Born in Sverdlovsk (Ekaterinburg), Russia in 1972, Konstantin Komardin graduated from the Ural Academy of Architecture with a degree in book design. In the early 1990s he began working with various publishing houses as an illustrator and designer. In 1991, he published his comic strips in various magazines and publishing houses. He also makes animated films.
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