Svay Ken’s paintings are a unique document of Cambodian society and its transformations over the past 60 years. Born in Cambodia’s south, Svay worked as a porter at the Hotel Le Royal in Phnom Penh until the Khmer Rouge took power in 1975, forcing him and his family out of the city and into agrarian labour. In 1979, his family was reunited, and he resumed work at the hotel. In 1993, just prior to retirement, Svay took up painting to support his family and began selling his works to the hotel’s patrons. He later set up his own gallery and painted every day until his death.

Images of daily life, portraits, still lives and historical scenes make up Svay Ken’s comprehensive oeuvre. The ‘Sharing knowledge’ paintings were from the artist’s last major series, which features Khmer text and related imagery providing moral and spiritual advice to the younger generation.