Catalogue Than Sok "Les Formes de l'Eau"

The concrete and stripped-down nature of the objects – or of nature in the
case of Kbach teuk - is still a representation which tries to impose itself but
which at the same time contains its annihilation. This almost sensual materiality
which Sok presents us with evokes nothingness. It is a movement interpreted
by the curator, Caroline Ha Thuc 2 – especially in the two installations referred
to – as a “deconstruction of the spiritual”. It is this strange coming and going
between an image that is very present and its erasure which gives so much
power to Sok’s work.
This strange way in which Sok’s pieces make themselves felt comes from the
artist’s dedication to a passionate reflection on tradition and the way in which
it transcends time. Sok questions art’s ability to transform ritual practices or
fixed representations. Cambodian artists are preoccupied with the question
of the durability of these practices, notably because of the formidable (and
at times intimidating) legacy of Angkor art, but also because of the tragic
experience of a genocide during which Cambodia’s people and art were in
danger of being annihilated. Continuity with the past, being embedded in a
tradition… Sok’s art – yet so contemporary when one considers his economy of
means – completely embraces this. The title of the series - Kbach Teuk – refers
to the Cambodian tradition of Kbach, the decorative elements of Cambodian
architecture found in houses, on furniture, temple bas-reliefs, objects…. This
traditional art of decorative ornamentation is transmitted orally from artisan to
artisan, and incidentally, uses patterns based on schematic images of animals
or plants.
The paintings of the forms of water thus draw their inspiration from observing
representations of water in the silver Pagoda of the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh
and Sok’s own river walks. Erin Gleeson 3 , our exhibition curator, highlights the
importance of Sok’s time at the Reyum Art School in Phnom Penh which closed
its doors in 2007. Sok, in addition to his classes in drawing and contemporary
art, followed a course dedicated to the art of Kbach. Erin Gleeson tells us
that one of Sok’s teachers, Ms Saree, noted that the representations of water
in contemporary Cambodian craft were stuck in the past and were mere
reproductions of ancestral imagery. She encouraged her students to innovate
regarding the design of decorative ornaments, advising them to rely on
observation and experience, to better capture the varied forms of water, a vital
element and carrier of aesthetic promise. Some years later, Sok has realised
his teacher’s wishes: he is renewing the traditional representation of water,
embedding it in his own artistic research.
² Caroline Ha Thuc, Sok Than: Deconstructive Beliefs, www.cobosocial.com, November 2017.
³ Erin Gleeson, Introductory Notes on Kbach Teuk Paintings by Than Sok, 2020.
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