Born 1972, Battambang, Cambodia
Lives and works in Siem Reap, Cambodia

Svay Sareth’s practice has formed around his unique upbringing in Cambodia. Dedicated to maintaining Cambodia’s cultural heritage while confronting contemporary social concerns, Svay creates sculptural works that combine aspects of Cambodia’s renowned Buddhist relics and narratives with commentary on its history of war and political instability. He is also one of the country’s most prolific performance artists and has produced a unique body of work over almost two decades.

One of his earliest performance works made in Cambodia is titled Mon Boulet. The durational performance entailed his carrying an enormous 80-kilogram metal sphere some 250 kilometres, from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh. Svay has since staged performative works around the world; however, those undertaken in Cambodia remain poignant reflections and reveal the artist negotiating his own feelings and anxieties, local cultures, and exploring the nature of collective memory.