Kanel KHIEV

Projection M.E

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2 Channels Video, 12'35"

 

Kanel's work is focused on social documentation, as participant and observer. "Projection M.E" is a work that explores issues of rampant development in Phnom Penh epitomized by the proliferation of billboards and their light pollution. The intrusive nature of these lights is dramatically illustrated in the video of the artist himself standing in the bright light of newly installed billboards at two different intersections in Phnom Penh. We see the figure of the artist standing still while he is washed in different colors, that seem more like a night club than a street corner. Especially disturbing are the flashes of bright white light that bleaches the scene, causing the figure to squint as he adapts to the brightness and the image is momentarily pixelated as the camera equally struggles with the change in luminosity.