Socheata Aing

Socheata Aing’s performances stem from a harmonious combination of elements deeply rooted in the practice of writing.
The artist nourishes each new performance with an often very personal story, which she shares through the writing of her Little Memoirs. This collection of texts, which she reactivates regularly during public readings, also contains the outline of her performances and invites further sharing of confidences. Indeed, Socheata Aing’s performances are all about the intimate and the public, about memories and emotions that are quite personal but also very common: the sadness of grief, the sweetness of love, childhood memories, the outrages of adulthood, as well as cultural heritage and its clichés.
The artist establishes an immediate communication with her audience members through the rituals she invites them to take part in, and which involve simple, daily actions such as chopping onions, eating a meal, dancing, or clapping hands. Several worlds coexist during these rituals: sports, partying, or religious tradition.
This communication with the audience, which almost reaches the point of communion, allows the artist to broaden perspectives, to avoid dwelling in a form of self-sufficient intimism and instead to turn her stories and specific emotions into a world of their own and to welcome otherness into them.

Translated by Lucy Pons, 2024