Svay Sareth

Dublin Core

Title

Svay Sareth

Subject

Contributor

Coverage

Contributor Item Type Metadata

First Name

Svay

Surname or Business Name

Sareth

Years Affiliated

2016

Affiliation

NTU CCA Singapore

Birth Date

1972

Birthplace

Cambodia

Occupation

Artist

Biographical Text

Svay Sareth (b. 1972, Cambodia) was born during a period of political turmoil and violence that would last until he was 18 years old. Svay began making art as a young teenager in the Site 2 refugee camp, near the Thai-Cambodian border. He describes life as a refugee as "void nationality...a time and place you imagine escaping from." Drawing and painting became a daily activity for Svay ‚ a process of bearing witness to the psychological and physical violence that was an everyday experience, as well as a way to symbolically escape and dream of change. After the wars ended, Svay went on to co-found Phare Ponlue Selepak, a non-governmental organisation and art school in Battambang that continues to thrive today. In 2002, the artist continued his studies in France, earning the Diplôme National Supérieur d'Études des Arts Plastiques / MFA in 2009, after which he returned to Siem Reap to live and work. 
Solo exhibitions include I, Svay Sareth, am eating rubber sandals (2015) and Traffic Circle (2012) both SA SA BASSAC, Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Select group exhibitions; 2016 include Phnom Penh, Rescues Archaeology, The Body and the Lens in the City, Fragments & Empire: Cambodian Art from the Angkor Period, John Young Museum of Art, University of Hawaii, Hawaii (2016), Prudential Eye Awards Finalist Exhibition, Art Science Museum, Singapore (2016); After Utopia, Singapore Art Museum (2015), Singapore; Gods, Heroes and Clowns: Performance and Narrative in South and Southeast Asian Art, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia; Secret Archipelago, Palais de Tokyo, Paris (2015).In 2016, he won Prudential Eye Award Best Emerging Artist Using Sculpture and Overall Best Emerging Artist.

Country of Practice

Public Resource Centre Affiliation

Contributor Type

Files

Svay Sareth.jpg

Collection

Citation

“Svay Sareth,” NTU CCA Singapore Digital Archive, accessed February 14, 2025, https://ntuccasingapore.omeka.net/items/show/1151.

Item Relations

Item: Svay Sareth References This Item