Neak Sophal (b. 1989, Takeo, Cambodia) graduated from the Royal University of Fine Arts in Phnom Penh. She has developed her distinctive practice in photography through performatively composed portraitures, commonly staged in collaboration with her subjects. Her works often illuminate the ongoing struggles and voices of those who can face marginalisation in Cambodian society, including women, rural communities, immigrants, and communities at risk. Playing with the politics of identities and aesthetics, and informed by conceptual and political motivations, her subjects may or may not have their identities revealed. Sophal’s works often challenge social structures, highlighting the hidden memories and fear that animate people’s lives.
Active locally and internationally, Sophal has participated in workshops and group and solo exhibitions in France, Sweden, the United States, Japan, and Australia, as well as at Angkor Photo Festival (Cambodia), Spot Art (Singapore), Hong Kong International Photo Festival, Bangkok Photo Festival, Asian Eye Culture (Thailand), Voice of Tacitness Exhibition (China), Our City Festival (Cambodia), SurVivArt (Germany), and Photo Phnom Penh Festival (Cambodia).