︎︎︎
Losing My Religion
ការបាត់បង់សាសនារបស់ខ្ញុំ
Sopheak Sam’s sculptural video installation, ការបាត់បង់សាសនារបស់ខ្ញុំ Losing My Religion (2021) forms a space where multiple diasporic Cambodian visual cultures collide. ការបាត់បង់សាសនារបស់ខ្ញុំ Losing My Religion is an iteration of Sam’s previous work, Holiday in Cambodia (2018) but differs in its source material and altar-like structure. Drawing inspiration from Theravada Buddhism’s notions of animism—the belief that objects have a spiritual essence—Sam assembles an altar that references popular media from the post-Khmer Rouge era: 80s and 90s karaoke music videos ↗, Haing S. Ngor’s iconic Oscar speech ↗, movie and documentary clips ↗, and other videos sourced from Youtube.
From afar, the work appears as if someone has left all the living room TVs turned on; as if they were flipping through the channels trying to find themselves reflected on the screen. A closer look reveals a collection of videos that Sam has woven into objects found in everyday Cambodian households—កន្ទេល “kɑnteil” (leisure mats), ខ្នើយ “khnaəy” (ornate silk pillows), ភួយ “phuəy” (blankets), ចានស្រាក់ “caan sraak” (tiffin carriers) and temple trays. By embedding popular imagery directly onto quotidian objects, Sam begins to reflect on the ways in which moving image and visual culture becomes a point of departure for cultural transmission and diasporic assemblages .
By Suriya Sam-Khuth
10.30.2021–01.29.2022
Featured in Sutures group exhibition at Minnesota Museum of American Art, St Paul, curated by Suriya Sam-Khuth
Credits
Losing My Religion, 2021. Installation view, Sutures, Minnesota Museum of American Art, St Paul, 2022. Photo by Drew Arrieta/Nicole Thomas
Source Videos (non-exhaustive)
![Still from the karaoke music video ចាំសង្សារ (Cham Songsa), translation: Remember Your Lover by Sokun Nisa. © Ramsey Hang Meas, 2011.]()
![Still from the karaoke music video ទឹកភ្នែកនាងបុទុមមា (Tek Pnek Neang Bo Thom Mea), translation: Tears of Lady Botuma by Eang Sithol and Sokun Theary. SungSalachey DVD #20. © Ramsey Hang Meas, 2014.]()
![Still from the music video Waiting For You by Bruno. Circa 1990. Source: YouTuber lchan90a.]()
![Still from Same Same But Different (Germany), directed by Detlev Buck, 2009. © Production: Biscuit Films / Boje Buck Produktion / Bophana Production]()
![Still from “C” Me In “C” Me Out (Ruthless Mafia Crips). © Streetside Productions/East Bay Asian Youth Center, 2003.]()
![“Returning Home - Raw footage ...Phnom Penh in the early 90s. by Chakara Lim,” YouTube. Uploaded Dec 9, 2020. © Video by Chakara Films.]()
Losing My Religion
ការបាត់បង់សាសនារបស់ខ្ញុំ
Sopheak Sam’s sculptural video installation, ការបាត់បង់សាសនារបស់ខ្ញុំ Losing My Religion (2021) forms a space where multiple diasporic Cambodian visual cultures collide. ការបាត់បង់សាសនារបស់ខ្ញុំ Losing My Religion is an iteration of Sam’s previous work, Holiday in Cambodia (2018) but differs in its source material and altar-like structure. Drawing inspiration from Theravada Buddhism’s notions of animism—the belief that objects have a spiritual essence—Sam assembles an altar that references popular media from the post-Khmer Rouge era: 80s and 90s karaoke music videos ↗, Haing S. Ngor’s iconic Oscar speech ↗, movie and documentary clips ↗, and other videos sourced from Youtube.
From afar, the work appears as if someone has left all the living room TVs turned on; as if they were flipping through the channels trying to find themselves reflected on the screen. A closer look reveals a collection of videos that Sam has woven into objects found in everyday Cambodian households—កន្ទេល “kɑnteil” (leisure mats), ខ្នើយ “khnaəy” (ornate silk pillows), ភួយ “phuəy” (blankets), ចានស្រាក់ “caan sraak” (tiffin carriers) and temple trays. By embedding popular imagery directly onto quotidian objects, Sam begins to reflect on the ways in which moving image and visual culture becomes a point of departure for cultural transmission and diasporic assemblages .
By Suriya Sam-Khuth
10.30.2021–01.29.2022
Featured in Sutures group exhibition at Minnesota Museum of American Art, St Paul, curated by Suriya Sam-Khuth
Credits
Losing My Religion, 2021. Installation view, Sutures, Minnesota Museum of American Art, St Paul, 2022. Photo by Drew Arrieta/Nicole Thomas
Source Videos (non-exhaustive)
