Holocaust Centre North launches exhibition to mark 50 years since Cambodian genocide - The Jewish Chronicle

A new exhibition, with work from survivors of the Cambodian genocide is opening on Monday at the Holocaust Centre North.

It marks 50 years since two million Cambodian people - almost 25 per cent of the nation’s population - were tortured, starved and slaughtered by the Khmer Rouge regime.

Cambodia: 50 Years of Reckoning brings together the work of three artists, Dayanny So, Charles Fox and Komarine Romdenh-Romluc, whose work reflects on their own personal experiences of Cambodia during the genocide and afterwards - reclaiming identities, creating new lives and accepting the past.

Hannah Randall, head of learning at Holocaust Centre North, told the JC: “Our approach is about personalising the Holocaust through the stories of survivors, and the approach of these artists is very similar. They tell stories of survival and rebuilding lives, which is what we do here, so there is that synergy.”

Dayanny So, is a Cambodian diaspora artist, who draws upon his personal experiences of surviving the Khmer Rouge regime to create powerful and evocative artwork (Photo: Holocaust Centre North)[Missing Credit]

Dayanny So is a Cambodian diaspora artist, who draws upon his personal experiences surviving the Khmer Rouge regime to create powerful and evocative artwork. His artistic practice is deeply rooted in a Cambodian upbringing and the journey that brought the artist to the UK as a young adult.

Komarine Romdenh-Romluc, whose father survived the genocide, is an academic and DJ, who explores questions of diaspora identity. Her artwork, Thread, tells the story of a journey to Cambodia. It both represents Kom’s ongoing search to make sense of her Cambodian heritage and is a record of a journey to the country with her father and brother in November 2022. It turned out to be her father’s last journey back to his homeland.

Komarine Romdenh-Romluc is an academic and DJ who uses philosophy and sound to investigate who we are (Photo: Holocaust Centre North)[Missing Credit]

Charles Fox, a photographer and practice-based researcher, will be displaying images depicting the personal story of a survivor’s escape route. Splitting his time between the UK and Southeast Asia, Charles has been working in Cambodia since 2006.

Charles Fox is a photographer and practice-based researcher working with a focus on visual methodologies and collaborative community-based practice (Photo: Holocaust Centre North)[Missing Credit]

Randall said that while the centre focused on survivor testimony from the Holocaust, it also provided “a springboard to speak about other genocides” and that the exhibition on the Cambodian genocide “encapsulates our mission of telling global history through personal and local stories”.

The Holocaust Centre North, which is based at Huddersfield University, was founded by survivors of the Holocaust and refugees who settled in the north of England.

Cambodia: 50 Years of Reckoning runs at Holocaust Centre North from March 31 to April 4. To launch the exhibition on March 31 at 5pm, the three artists will be giving a talk in person at the Centre about their artwork, their shared experiences and the importance of hosting this work 50 years after the start of the Cambodian Genocide.

The exhibition and the launch event are free, but tickets must be reserved here

Topics:

Holocaust Centre North

Cambodian genocide

Art exhibition