My exhibition “particle” (2019) explored the origins of urbanization and the exploitation of natural resources, with a focus on the commercial extraction of limestone. I choose limestone as a center of the themes as a construction boom in Southeast Asia is driving demand for a core ingredient of cement — limestone, which is derived from natural resources, i.e. blasting limestone mountains. It results in destruction of the fragile ecosystem and also affect livelihoods of people living in communities around the mountains.

In the project “Particle,” I produced an experimental work that has a mixture of documentary, cinematography and artistry. The exhibition consisted of three mediums including the video installation, the sculptures and the painting.

Regarding the video installation, it is a merging of a documentary about the effect of extractive capitalism on a community in Cambodia where the community has been fenced off from the mountains because of a concession agreement to a multinational corporation; blending into a fictional narrative of an anonymous man in a fictive realm.

First published in May 2020