Sofitel & Exhibition: Artistic Celebration of Cambodia’s Living Waterways
- Editorial team
- 6 hours ago
- 3 min read
Until January 15, 2026, five artists from the prestigious Phare Ponleu Selpak School of Battambang take the public on a sensory journey where their works combine painting and immersive mixed media.
Under the evocative title Breath of the River, this exhibition transcends simple observation to become a profound meditation on the beauty, fragility, and spiritual richness of the Kingdom’s rivers and lakes. It also casts a strong gaze on the environmental challenges threatening these sacred waterways, calling for urgent reflection on conservation and sustainability.
Artists: Voices and Visions of a Fluid, Living Cambodia
Five unique talents stand out in this artistic celebration, all graduates of Phare Ponleu Selpak, a school renowned for its rigor and creative inspiration.
Channy Chhoeun, whose childhood was marked by sketches drawn in the earth with a simple stick, is now a deeply committed artist. His work explores the intimate relationship between the birds he loves and their natural habitats, delivering a powerful emotional statement on the protection of these fragile ecosystems. His paintings convey both a tactile admiration for nature and a warning cry for its vulnerability, urgently calling for awareness.
Hak Bor has a difficult background, having first been rescued from human trafficking. Wood and stone, in his hands, become powerful emotional witnesses. His sculptures, shaped by an exploration of trauma and resilience, are visual manifestos celebrating memory and inner strength. Now a facilitator at Phare Creative Studio, he also deploys his talent in visual storytelling advocating justice and humanity.
Sophy Sou, initially destined for dance, embraced her fate in illustration, creating works where Khmer tradition and narrative modernity merge fluidly. Today, she affirms herself as a mentor to a new generation of artists, with the ambitious dream of opening her own drawing school to perpetuate this nourishing cultural dialogue.
Kakada Soeurm draws inspiration from the illustrated books of his childhood and combines art and pedagogy in his current work with Room to Read. His innovative approach incorporates reclaimed wood into his creations, materializing a moving connection between humans and nature, the focus of an unprecedented artistic commitment that resonates at the heart of the exhibition’s message.
Finally, Chhorvorn Van embodies the strength of rebirth. Born into hardship and a victim of trafficking from a young age, he found refuge and salvation in art, studying diligently at Phare while working. Now an artist with recognized international exhibitions, he dialogues through his spiritual and symbolic works with the deep wounds and hopes of a people, offering a universal perspective through the power of raw emotion.
A Tribute to Art and Nature in the Heart of Phnom Penh
Located in the sumptuous gallery of the Sofitel Phnom Penh Phokeethra,
Breath of the River is more than an exhibition; it’s a bridge between cultural heritage and environmental awareness.
Visitors are invited to explore this artistic journey from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily, in an atmosphere conducive to wonder and reflection, with free and open access. It’s a rare opportunity to appreciate the contemporary richness of engaged art, giving voice to the sacred rivers and reminding all of the shared responsibility to preserve these precious links between nature and humanity.
Breath of the River thus embodies the promise of a sensitive awakening where each brushstroke, each sculpture, each image becomes a regenerative breath, inviting the meeting of beauty, memory, and future.