Thunder and Rain by Apsvra and Penkuro is being presented at the Bong The Gallery on street 240 until the end of the month.

Modern Khmer art: The Tale of the Storm Goddess
31 August 2018
Perhaps most in the Kingdom know of the folktale called Moni Mekhala which tells the origin of thunderstorms. Two young art students, however, have refreshed the story by bringing it to life through their digital design skills.

Uddam Pen and Socheata Chhea, working under the names Apsvra and Penkuro, have collaborated on an exhibition called Thunder and Rain or The Tale of the Storm Goddess, which illustrates the tale through digital works of art.

Both self-trained capital artists believe that the Kingdom’s arts community has the power to strengthen national identity while simultaneously updating traditional forms.

In the folktale, lightning goddess Moni Mekhala won a crystal ball after a challenge with Ream Eyso. Bolts are produced by her crystal ball and thunder by Eyso’s axe.

“I want to engage with Cambodian youth. I think Cambodian youth are changing their mindsets and beginning to exchange ideas,” Pen says, adding that art is deeply rooted in Western culture, but it is still growing in the Kingdom.

“There is always a lack of Asian or Cambodian representation in popular media. I want to see more of it. Cambodia seems to have always been known as the Khmer Rouge country. It’s not a very great identity,” Chhea said.
https://www.phnompenhpost.com/post-life ... rm-goddess