Flower

Phnom Penh, 2018

Flower, in a subtle way, challenges the well-established notions of feminine identity in Cambodian society. Neak Sophal, takes as a starting point, local expressions and romantic songs of the 60s that compare women to a flower or white paper – implying purity, beauty and fragility. Trudy Jacobson, author and expert on gender roles in Cambodia[1], explains “Cambodian proverbs such as broh jee-a daw dail meas, srei jee-a daw dail kotong saw (‘men are like gold, women are like white cloth’), the implication being that gold can be washed clean of dirt whereas white cloth will always bear a stain, are ingrained in the collective consciousness of Cambodians today further perpetuate the stereotype of Cambodian women as passive and Cambodian society as unequal.” Also implicit in the expression is the notion of sexual inequality which Sophal addresses through the selection of her models. At first she recruited sex workers to pose for the images, but soon realized the stigma of sexuality applied to all women. That by casting a lens only on sex workers it would in fact reinforce the stigmatization.

The image of a self-empowered woman is rare, considering the proliferation of soft-porn imagery featuring scantily clad women posing demurely are found in many paintings offered in local shops. A trend that built momentum in the 1960s. According to Jacobson1, it was around this time that literature from the 19^th century, a time period of relative political freedom under the rule of King Ang Duong, resurged with popularity. In particular, the epic poem Chbap Srei, which outlined detailed instructions for appropriate behavior for women, advocating humbleness and servitude, was republished and made popular. It quickly took root in the foundation of Cambodian values and traditions. Simultaneously, the practice of objectifying women through the arts, that continues today, reaffirmed the tradition. The ubiquity of such imagery further normalizes the idealization of feminine beauty and women as sexual objects. 

Sophal worked with several female models, including family and friends, to create portraits showing their faces framed with flowers, each selected for cultural significance. Amongst the 14 portraits the ages of the models range from 13 to 40, which Sophal refers to as the “age of beauty” – a concept reinforced by the media, advertisement and TV. In this series, she has departed from her signature style of covering or obscuring her subject’s faces (Hang On, 2013, Behind, 2013, Leaf, 2013). Instead they look boldly into the lens and at us the viewer. It is a simple gesture, but one that carries significance. The women are at once natural and confident – they lack pretense and defy judgement. Each portrait was created after a conversation about women’s role in society, during which the models enthusiastically supported a feminist viewpoint according to Sophal.

The next step in the process involves staining the prints with colorful pigments. This is, for Sophal, a direct reference to the expression that compares women to white paper. By staining them, she has made them irrevocably impure. She has not, however, compromised on beauty having carefully chosen materials and complimentary colors that achieve visually pleasing compositions.  She has elevated the “impure” by agency of aesthetics. Moreover, it is an aesthetic that opposes local convention that insists on imagery of beautiful woman that are highly stylized with makeup, jewelry, costumes and fantasy backgrounds. Sophal, instead relies on the natural beauty of the model, quietly asserting that a woman can be appreciated, and respected, as she is.