Born in 1974 in Pier Reang, Prey Veng province, Seckon’s relative young age belongs to a generation born in a post apocalyptic period that was so devastating for the country. Formally educated at the Royal University of Fine Arts, Seckon will be artist in residence at the Fukuoka Asian Art Museum later this year, and then will represent Cambodia at the Fukuoka Triennial in September. A prolific artist with a busy schedule, Seckon has shown in multiple venues in Cambodia, as well as Thailand, and as widely as Myanmar, Shanghai, Singapore, Norway, Hong Kong, and New York, in group and solo shows.

In 2008, King Norodom Sihamoni endorsed The Naga, Seckon’s work with the Rubbish Project – a project founded by the artist in 2005; a semi-informal artists' collective, as a means of raising awareness of environmental issues affecting Cambodia. The Rubbish Project first made headlines last year with the hugely successful "Rubbish Fashion Show" held at Elsewhere in Phnom Penh. Among other achievements, Seckon was a finalist in the Sovereign Asia Art Prize, 2005, and gained Second prize in a painting contest for HIV/AIDS World AIDS Day, UNESCO, December 2000.

In search of his own language and medium of expression, Seckon had from an early point developed an interest in materials. In the recollection of his own youth as a “buffalo boy,” memories of stories told by his father, Khmer myths and legends, Mekong adventures, images of his own family life, Seckon has gathered and collected bits and pieces from daily life: a clipping, a ticket, the envelope of a letter from a friend, a faded picture of a movie star, a beer bottle label, to create compositions to convey his meanings.

In “See you later part 1, “ some of his 15 art works deal with political and social changes he observes in Thailand and Cambodia. Seckon assembles together the images of Thai and Cambodian movie stars who once shared the limelight in a smash hit love-story movie across the borders between the two countries, representing the nostalgia of a once harmonious relationship between Thailand and Cambodia. This is also a hopeful overture, and Seckon’s art intrinsic optimism through nostalgia and an almost innocent-like quality can be viewed as a wish for the future, showing the beautiful possibilities that once were and which can become; this in itself is a remarkable juxtaposition, given the country’s recent dark history.

From 22nd June till early September. >> Price available on application.