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
South Boston, MA
Organizers:
Shane Levi
Savanna Nelson
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.](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/bc1c5448c557bc47a61530eab3323a32177c31a2203b8bbf5b702b5e6cccf01c/2021_Ouroboros.png)
![ទេព (Eden), 2021. Mixed media on paper: acrylic and soft pastels, approx. 168” x 48” (14 ft x 8 ft). Photo by Mel Taing.](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/e778cb8961a3120a6e31513be1b65b57fd39a49dfbf77c5bea60ec227b2bb237/2021_Eden.png)
![អាក្រក់ (Pray for Me), 2021. Mixed media on paper: oil, acrylic, soft pastels, 40” x 26”. Photo by James Hull.](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/c4becf944cec46367883742f5f42224178b9309e00f7e1f88ee4750f41a4390b/2021_Pray-For-Me.png)
![ជាមួយគ្នា (Stairway to Heaven), 2022. Mixed media on paper: oil, acrylic, soft pastels, 40” x 26”. Photo by Mel Taing.](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/95d26550f5ebb346813a3834e6bb68bb6d2341369e1a93e9d99882352e574498/cc_Sopheak_Sam_07.png)
![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.](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/e0e11bd356f172084049aa7cc0408b4cfd31f151b480a035508ffeefabd2bb98/2022_Golden-Hour.png)
![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.](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/9a43ba17f93f359dddf2c2398c3fd772505365d6e4e2848c7974420a3ac96c7c/2022_Horizon.png)
![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.](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/5f5cb147c11d2f5cdf03b82689bbe9fa4cae4fbe51a71330b48f9c5499a09611/2022_Hold-Tight.png)
![ស្លាក់ (How’s your head?), 2022. Charcoal on paper cut-out, 47h × 47w in. Photo by Mel Taing.](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/2e20071c6b6321d09e01f6380cd3415ba1660e43b0dfe4f353a6a38336ab141e/2022_Head.png)
![ឆ្ងាញ់ (Foot In My Mouth), 2021. Monoprint (only edition) 9h x 12w in. Photo by Mel Taing.](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/9b8f37480ee616e0d6c5b4591f9327ccfe3c204763622c8b255a54967532245c/2021_Foot-in-My-Mouth.png)
![ខ្ញុំជាពស់ (Languishing), 2022. Image transfer, spray paint, and acrylic on wood panel, 9h × 12w in. Photo by Mel Taing.](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/b60a83e162e1d4878e9a0cda2e72c9714d0851ac7f6bf8fbb52afbdb78626002/2022_Languishing.png)
![គឺឯង (The Departure), 2021. Oil on vinyl, 40h x 30w in. Photo by Mel Taing.](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/ede6d170835fb0e0b9ef2b55936a3321a7592e803f30e940ce289e846942b9d0/2021_The-Departure.png)
![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.](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/5bc8a852d2e56c82b05b0818c0cfefcb193f0afa0fb89e26905e1249d5563919/1A3A8691-Edit-6.png)
Exhibition documentation
Installation view, រង់ចាំចូលនិព្វាន Waiting for Enlightenment, Distillery Gallery, Boston, June 1 – July 9, 2022. Photo by Mel Taing. © Sopheak Sam
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