The Zen Stalker

"The Zen Stalker" my latest meditative experimental contemporary contemplative short film is now available on Vimeo. Click here to watch. 
Special thanks to Inga Palme for her kind contribution.

Art exhibition populates pagoda

The latest article about my exhibition was published in the Phnom Penh Post. I just copy the original article here because couple of weeks later there's no access to read the original version free of charge. Anyway at the end of this article just try to click on the link. May be you are lucky. The photo I attached was taken by Eric de Vries.

Art exhibition populates pagoda

Among the shrines and ceremonial ornaments strewn throughout the meditation room of Siem Reap’s Kesseraram Pagoda, a sight that would otherwise be peculiar to behold, given the venue, adorns its walls.

With the room serving a secondary function as an art gallery of sorts until May 31, the pagoda is hosting Janos Kis’ and Geoff Croll’s joint photography exhibition, Sacred … and Nuns Life.

The title of the project is something of a practical approach to explaining the subject matter depicted in the photos. The elegance and sense of purity Croll has captured in his work on the daily life of Buddhist nuns in Myanmar is juxtaposed with the rawer feel of Kis’ work with monks, many of whom are former soldiers, sporting skin etched with tattoos of sacred talismans and symbols.

Kis’ Sacred series displays visceral, close-up, black-and-white and colour shots of body parts decorated with the tattoos. On the exhibition’s opening day, resident monks explained to attendees the meaning of the ink in the photos.

The protective tattoos consist of two elements: geometric pattern (yantra) and symbols (mantras).

Each tattoo is specific to the person, as it is supposed to reflect the personality of the wearer. Likewise, different tattoos provide different protection. One gives immunity from projectiles, like arrows or bullets, another provides invisibility once a weapon has been lost, and one even provides protection from being crushed by an elephant.

“I’ve never seen similar tattoos in my life,” says Kis, whose interest in the protective inking was sparked during an earlier visit to Kesseraram Pagoda, where he saw the tattoos peeking through the robes of several monks.

In contrast, Croll’s series, Nuns Life, has a more gentle quality, yet is no less compelling. Croll’s work took him on a journey through eight different locations in Myanmar where he spent a lot of time with nuns, allowing them to get comfortable and open up to the camera.

The exhibition was first shown in January at Siem Reap’s 4 Faces Gallery. But Kis and Croll felt that, given the subject matter, there should be some involvement from the Buddhist community of Siem Reap. After Kis discussed this with the head monks of Kesseraram Pagoda, they came to him with the decision to host a showing.

Most of the proceeds will be donated to the monastery and according to Kis, “Our goal was to bring the project to a unique venue and make it a humanitarian effort to benefit the pagoda and help its disabled residents.” by Bejan Siavoshy
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The Little Nun

The Little Nun

Meas Srey Pov was born in 1986 with Down’s syndrome in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Many of her relatives including her mother’s ex-husband, brothers and sisters died of starvation, overwork or disease during the Khmer Rouge regime. Only one sister Sophannaly and her mother survived. Several years later her mother remarried and the Srey Pov was born.

Her mother suffered from a variety of illnesses and the family was extremely poor, like most Cambodian families. At the time of her birth proper medical treatment was unavailable. In 1996, after prolonged and painful suffering, Srey Pov’s mother died from uterine cancer. At that time her sister got married and moved away from the family.

The father remarried and then contracted tuberculosis leaving him unable to provide good care. Srey Pov’s stepmother never liked her and one day when her husband was away, expelled the child from their home.

Homeless, Srey Pov was sleeping on the street for three nights till someone recognized her and let her sister know. Sophannaly took the child to her home. In 1998 Srey Pov’s father died. Sophannaly and her husband were also very poor but kind-hearted. They provided the love and care that Srey Pov had been denied for so long.

With death of Sophannaly’s husband, the tragedy continued. A little known distant relative wanted the remaining family to move to Siem Reap, the tourist town near Angkor Wat, 320km away from the Phnom Penh. The old relative was living at a Pagoda and owned a small house and needed someone take care of him. With nothing to lose the sisters moved to Siem Reap. Sophannaly took care of her “uncle” until his death when the two sisters inherited his property, which is all they have.

They became Buddhist nuns in November 2001. To support herself and her sister, Sophannaly makes textile bags for nuns and monks. Every day they eat and pray in the pagoda together with the other nuns.

Hopefully Sophannaly will be able to take care of Srey Pov in the future because there is no one else willing to provide for her.

In May I organized a charity photo exhibition for Srey Pov “The Little Nun” inside the Ketseraram Pagoda in Siem Reap. “Sacred… and the Nun’s life” a joint exhibition included my work about the Khmer Monks Sacred Yantra Tattoos and Geoff Croll’s Burmese Nun photography.

Psychiatric care in Cambodia is extremely limited and in most cases families have to take care of sick patients and pay for medication on their own.