"Endangered" Installation
Siem Reap, Cambodia
Installed May 2021
"I installed a vinyl print of my paper cutaway piece, “Endangered” outdoors in Siem Reap, Cambodia to honor a woman named Aem who often rides her bicycle with her young daughter in front of my house, searching for recyclables to resell as a means of earning a living. “Trash picking” is one of the worst jobs people can have in Cambodia, and she obviously lives in extreme poverty, riding her old steel bicycle in the hot sun all day and sifting through residential trash with her bare hands. One day I saw her crouched behind her bicycle, sitting on her tattered flip flops on the side of the dusty road. I approached her and started speaking to her and I could see she was wiping tears from her eyes with her dirty Krama. Every time I see her I give her food and toiletries. On a different day I asked her if I could take her photo and showed her some of my art. She agreed and I made this cut paper and watercolor piece. I installed it where she rides past normally in the hope that she will see it and recognize herself.
Also in this piece, “Endangered,” I depicted a puppy I met recently dubbed “Number 19” saved from the meat trade, a wild duck I saved from slaughter last year and set free in the sunken forest, and a “Common Iora” songbird I rehabilitated after it fell out of the sky during a strong rainstorm in front of my house. During this especially difficult time, I think it’s more important than ever to take the time to notice those suffering around each of us and do our part to uplift each other in whatever ways we can."
Also in this piece, “Endangered,” I depicted a puppy I met recently dubbed “Number 19” saved from the meat trade, a wild duck I saved from slaughter last year and set free in the sunken forest, and a “Common Iora” songbird I rehabilitated after it fell out of the sky during a strong rainstorm in front of my house. During this especially difficult time, I think it’s more important than ever to take the time to notice those suffering around each of us and do our part to uplift each other in whatever ways we can."
Public Art Location
Group 4, Phum Salakanseng,
Sangkat Svay Dangkum,
Siem Reap, Cambodia
Free and open to the public
Sangkat Svay Dangkum,
Siem Reap, Cambodia
Free and open to the public