HOME | INTERVIEWS | MR. LEANG SIKORN, THE FAMOUS RUBBISH PAINTER OF CAMBODIA

Mr. Leang Sikorn, the famous rubbish painter of Cambodia
01-Mar-2008

A very beautiful dragon covered with garbage over its 200 metre-long body, 1.30 metres high, flies from the waters of the Siem Reap River in Siem Reap Province. This charming dragon which is about Rubbish Art, is a new theme of the Cambodian artist, Mr. Leang Sikorn.

Mr. Leang Sikorn said, we will hold an exhibition in the very marvelous land of Angkor of Siem Reap province on 22 March, 2008. We will display the dragon, which is made by plastic bags, in the central Siem Reap river. The dragon’s head will be laid from the Siem Reap Royal Palace and its body will stretch along the river opposite the FCC. Besides this we have the soul flag which represents four other animals: peacock, elephant, turtle, and fish and in the show we also have a fashion show which is about clothes made from rubbish.

More photos: http://taiyocambodia.com/photos

Not only Siem Reap River but also some other rivers across the Kingdom of Cambodia are being confronted with serious environmental pollution, especially, the garbage which is being used by the people and then thrown everywhere. Concerning this issue Mr. Sikorn stated that his concern has caused him to turn the rubbish into clothes and animal sculptures to show Cambodian people about conservation.We created this art programme because nature needs our help and we also need the nature to live, added Mr. Leang Sikorn, The natural world needs people’s help to take care in order to keep it stable and growing. If nature does not face damage, we artists get some parts of that nature to reveal in the paintings. With the environment destroyed and unclean water we can not get a view to paint it beautifully.

The dragon which was made from rattan and bamboo is covered with plastic bags to beautify its outside. Mr. Sikorn further added, the reason that we made the dragon from rubbish was because we think about our first territory when King Dragon pumped the sea water to make land in order to celebrate his daughter’s wedding with Preah Thoung.

While he is showing us a plan of the dragon, Mr. Sikorn said, the dragon which will be made from the rubbish is the real achievement but it is not alive. On the other hand the soul of this dragon will be telling people that they can not live and breathe with unclean water full of plastic bags and rubbish. If we continue like this, all our rivers will be destroyed. He stressed that there is a remarkable point to this dragon. In the Angkor era, a document recorded by Chiv Taqwan said, the Queen Dragon warned her husband who was the King of people to only sleep with her one time per year. If the King did not comply, his country would have a war.

The people used to use natural packaging such as lotus leaves to pack something so when they finished using it, they could throw it away anywhere without any problems. Now, with the use of plastic bags, they throw them everywhere and this impact not only on the environment but on the untidy appearance of the rivers and surroundings.

Meanwhile as we traveled along the Tonle Sap, Mr.Leang Sikorn added, “In 20005-2006 I got on a boat from Battambang province to Siem Reap along the Steugn Sang Ke river while it was flooded in the rainy season. I saw a lot of plastic bags over the trees which were growing along the river. It seemed the trees were made from plastic bags so I thought about the level of plastic and I imagined all the contributory rivers which flow into the Tonle Sap and the Mekong river. After that, I felt a great deal of concern for the waters which give us life. When we reached the entrance to the Tonle Sap we saw a pile of plastic bags. So we could not get on the river bank; we had to try to push our boat because the propeller was fouled by those plastic bags and that is what led me, the artist, to think what will we do about this issue in the artistic field. So I thought that I had to create an art piece from the rubbish as a way I can settle the issue.

Mr. Sikorn added, we chose the Siem Reap river because it is the source of sacred water which flows from Koland mountain every season and it is also the supreme place where the kings built Angkor Wat temple and also a place where they used to be celebrated a Sava Leung ritual.
He stated that in the Angkor era, the kings channeled the water here into the Baray basin in order to keep the water to supply farming. The local villagers believe that this river can clean out bad luck.

In the Buddhist scriptures it is said that the Buddha took the Heragn River to achieve enlightenment. When he threw peach [Monk’s cup] into the river, it reversely flowed and shook the dragon kingdom then a big head’s dragon appeared to enhance the Buddha’s enlightenment. Many people are very curious about these rubbish clothes, Mr. Sikorn said. “When I created clothes from garbage, many people asked me “Why do you make clothes from the rubbish?” and this is a significant question; I replied, “Please wait until later”. And when they saw my result, they were very happy with that and that’s what I want. Art serves as amusement, but a second, conservation message is deeper and this encourages me to invent the sculpture and clothing from rubbish.

Relevant to collection of garbage to create into different useful things Mr. Sikon told us that he collected some old garbage such as condoms so he could not use that but a lot of garbage which was already washed and cleaned could be used. “In Siem Reap province we buy some garbage from the rubbish collectors and this helps to keep our country clean as well.”

“My creation is not alive but it has a soul; I mean that I hope this dragon, which was a sacred creature of our ancestors, will come into Cambodian people’s minds to stop them throwing the rubbish anywhere into lake, river or sea. So this dragon is a sign to wake-up people’s minds and it is also an urgent proclamation which tells about nature’s need for the people’s help to fight against this pollution,” said Mr. Korn.

Although we exhibit these arts along the Siem Reap River, we do not merely focus on this river. We focus in general around the Kingdom of Cambodia, added Mr. Sikorn. I don’t expect to get a good result straight away, but in the future the Cambodian people will understand about the bad impact and the value of our environment which we need to preserve.

With this rubbish art we will be joined by a lot of artists, singers, and the models. The most popular actress of the 60’s Mrs. Dy Savet said, “We celebrate this art programme because we are artists; we are the ones who make people happy and with meaningful education we try to convince them of the advantages of protecting our environment.

More over Mrs. Fleur Smith a volunteer and environment lover from New Zealand said “I love Cambodia; I want the country to become a very clean country with very beautiful ever green views and a safe environment.”

“I was happy to start this project with Sikorn because I think the environment is very important to all of us because we all share the world together and have to live with the natural resources we have. I think it is very interesting that a Cambodian artist (Mr. Leang Sikorn) is so passionate about the environment that he wants to talk about the issues through his work and he is happy to do this for the rest of his life. I think if we just get attention to the issues, together a as community we can help to solve some of the problems which we have the power to solve”, added Mrs. Fleur.

She further more added, “I think Cambodian people can solve the environmental issues that we face in Cambodia. For The Rubbish Project we just try to raise awareness of the issues. The Cambodian government, many environment NGOs and a lot of people in the community already are thinking a lot about the issues and trying to find ways to encourage people to take care of their environment. Together we can make a difference, together we can change things, together we can look after our natural environment. I feel very privileged to have the opportunity to live in Cambodia and I am happy to be able to join with Sikorn to work on such a positive project.”

May Titthara
Photographs by Heng Chivoan

Mr. Leang Sikorn, the famous rubbish painter of Cambodia01-Mar-2008

A very beautiful dragon covered with garbage over its 200 metre-long body, 1.30 metres high, flies from the waters of the Siem Reap River in Siem Reap Province. This charming dragon which is about Rubbish Art, is a new theme of the Cambodian artist, Mr. Leang Sikorn.

Mr. Leang Sikorn, the famous rubbish painter of Cambodia
01-Mar-2008