Cambodian Shanghai Chang: the art of weaving identities

In residence in Kep since June 20, photographer, filmmaker and fashion designer Shanghai Chang is shaping a conceptual fashion piece out of debris gathered along the coast. Portrait of a Phnom Penh-born artist who has made indiscipline his method.

Shanghai Chang, in residence at Art for Kep

A piece born of the sea's debris

Every day, Shanghai Chang walks Kep in search of material: stranded fishing nets, rope, plastic tossed up by the tide — everything the sea and the local fishing economy leave behind on the sand. He also watches the town itself: the people, how they live, the materials they use day to day. Out of these outings comes the project he is developing during his residency: a conceptual, avant-garde fashion piece made entirely from ocean debris.

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