“People call me a fool artist” says Svay Ken: an artist

Sitting in a small apartment near Wat Phnom, a 76-year-old, Svay Ken, is coloring his painting carefully. He has an interesting life before he became an artist.

Having faced many hard time during Khmer Rouge regime 1975-1979, Ken’s life is not easy after the war. He tried to work very hard to earn a living as a porter at Le Royal Hotel since 1993. Working there, he had the ideas of painting because he went to the US embassy accidentally observing the culture of western people.
He had known the kinds of pictures the placed in the embassy then he came back to draw the picture by his own talent. “I have never learnt to paint before; when young I used to paint on the soil and the ordinary child did” says Ken happily. Ken drew the life of being a porter in the hotel and then he showed it to all the guesses that were swimming in the pool. Some guesses admired mine while the others did not. “I had tried many times to show my painting to the other people but I did not feel hopeless at all at last I got succeed,” adds Ken.
His painting was bought for the first time and he got $7; this encouraged him a lot. Ken adds “life is struggle; whatever happened we have to be strong to deal with it”. He adds that we have to stand up where we fall down. For this 76-year-old man, people have to be self-motivated, self-promoted in order to let other people know us.
For Ken, he has painted simple things that related to his life as a porter and the entire thing surrounded me. “People call me a fool artist” says Ken. What surprised and made Ken remember the most was the painting of “Drama Dancers” that he painted it for Mrs. Helen Javis, an Australian woman who came to Cambodia for a short time visit. At that time he got $60 from 3 paintings; he was really happy as this was the great amount of money he had ever had. From that time on, Ken’s life has become more interesting to the other [he is being known].
After having painted for an Australian woman, Ken drew a picture of American journalist who come to Cambodia and stayed in the hotel. The picture was about the life of a porter in the hotel. That journalist was really fascinated to see that picture and he took that picture from Ken in a rush way without any package Svay Ken’s name was seen on that picture.
Ken used to work for art gallery which he had to paint fro 10-12 pictures a month. Ken continues that working for other people is not what he wished to that’s why he decided to end the contract in 1995. “I want to work independently; I want to draw what I think of and I do not need to command of the boss any more” says Ken in a strict way. To Ken, an artist, he will paint the pictures as long as he can do it although nowadays he cannot walk properly [with the help of walking stick]. “ We have to do when we are able to do it and we do not know exactly when the dying is coming so just do our best when we are alive,” comments Ken.
The fool artist continues utterly that he paints all the things from house whole equipments, cyclo driver, scavenger and the refugees. His paintings have been shown in Phnom Penh and abroad such as at the new art gallery in Phnom Penh, Java Café in Phnom Penh, Reyum institute, Japan, Thailand, Singapore and in the June 24th his achievement will be held in Meta House exhibition.