Young Cambodian Female Artist

Dina has started her interest to artwork since she was 13 years old and in the following, there is an interview with her about the challenges in life as well as the inspiration related to her art career. 

Q:  What inspired you to become an artist?
Dina: I like painting and sculpture since I was young. I often went out with my relatives to collect some clay for designing kettles, pans, toys and other things.  When I was 13 years old, I started learning artwork with a teacher from America. Until I was 17 years old, I have learned and understood a lot about art, including paintings, decoration, printing and also sculpture, and working on that made me very happy.

Q: What are your challenges in your career/life as a female artist in Cambodia?
Dina:  It is sometimes hard to give the viewers an understanding of my works, as most of my productions are abstract and people might not get an approach to their meanings with just a glance.  Beside this, it is difficult to find a lot of customers, so that at the moment I can only sell around 20 to 30 percent of my artworks. In addition, there are more foreign clients than Khmer people buying my products.

Q: What do you think is the relationship between arts, politics and society?
Dina: I think that the painters are able to express issues linked to the society like corruption, non corruption, war and peace. People can get a better understanding what has happened in the society through such works.

Q: What inspired you to be involved with the HBF supported art exhibition: “Hey Sister… Where are you going?”?
Dina: This exhibition is a great chance for Cambodian female artists to show their artwork in public. Many people still only recognize male artists, so it will be an opportunity for Cambodian women to express their talent through their work. Showing their products to various people, Cambodians as well as foreigners, this exhibition will further encourage Cambodian female artists.

For further info about other artists click here