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រង់ចាំចូលនិព្វាន
Waiting for Enlightenment

This solo exhibition was the culmination of a yearlong conceptual and material engagement in painting, printmaking, drawing, and video. Exploring the ornamentality of queerness across vernacular Buddhism, the series center the snake (and snake-human hybrid) as an avatar and astral body for various states of being: queer melancholia, (dis)embodied pleasures and pains, and transcendence across boundaries, planes, and borders.

06.01.2022–07.09.2022

Distillery Gallery
South Boston, MA

Organizers:
Shane Levi
Savanna Nelson

Artwork

ជានិរន្តរ៍ (Ouroboros), 2021. Acrylic and oil on canvas, triptych: 135” x 60”; each: 45” x 60”. Photo by Mel Taing.

ទេព (Eden), 2021. Mixed media on paper: acrylic and soft pastels, approx. 168” x 48” (14 ft x 8 ft). Photo by Mel Taing.

អាក្រក់ (Pray for Me), 2021. Mixed media on paper: oil, acrylic, soft pastels, 40” x 26”. Photo by James Hull.

ជាមួយគ្នា (Stairway to Heaven), 2022. Mixed media on paper: oil, acrylic, soft pastels, 40” x 26”. Photo by Mel Taing.

បត់ជើង (Golden Hour), 2022. Soft pastels and acrylic on paper cut-out, plastic garlands, 50h × 45w in / 78h x 56w in (with garlands). Photo by Mel Taing.

ពស់ពួនក្នុងស្មៅ (Horizon), 2022. Mixed media (charcoal, soft pastels, acrylic) on paper cut-out, plastic garlands, 59h × 47w in / 83h x 40w in (with garlands). Photo by Mel Taing.

ខ្នើយ (Hold Me Tight), 2022. Mixed media (charcoal, soft pastels, acrylic) on paper cut-out, plastic garlands, 62h × 46w in / 79h x 56w in (with garlands). Photo by Mel Taing.

ស្លាក់ (How’s your head?), 2022. Charcoal on paper cut-out, 47h × 47w in. Photo by Mel Taing.

ឆ្ងាញ់ (Foot In My Mouth), 2021. Monoprint (only edition) 9h x 12w in. Photo by Mel Taing.

ខ្ញុំជាពស់ (Languishing), 2022. Image transfer, spray paint, and acrylic on wood panel, 9h × 12w in. Photo by Mel Taing.

គឺឯង (The Departure), 2021. Oil on vinyl, 40h x 30w in. Photo by Mel Taing.

ចាំ (Waiting for Enlightenment), 2022. Mixed media (oil, acrylic, soft pastels) on canvas cut-out, plastic garlands, grommets, rope, kantheil mat, 62h × 100w in / 82h x 100w in (with garlands). Photo by Mel Taing.

Exhibition documentation

Installation view, រង់ចាំចូលនិព្វាន Waiting for Enlightenment, Distillery Gallery, Boston, June 1 – July 9, 2022. Photo by Mel Taing. © Sopheak Sam