Vandy Rattana

Vandy Rattana (born 1980, Phnom Penh, Cambodia) began photographing as a form of historical continuity, concerned with the lack of physical documentation of unofficial stories and monuments unique to his history and culture. His early serial works straddled the line between strict photojournalism and conceptual practice, and shared a preoccupation with the everyday as experienced by the average Cambodian. Whereas his early works chronicled the contemporary moment while creating a more comprehensive archive for future generations, his recent work critiques historiography by pivoting toward fiction. Vandy's recent solo exhibitions include “Bomb Ponds,” Asia Society, New York City (2013) and “Surface,” SA SA BASSAC, Phnom Penh (2012). Recent group exhibitions include “Die Roten Khmer und die Folgen” [The Khmer Rouge and the Consequences], Akademie der Künste, Berlin (2015), “In the Aftermath of Trauma: Contemporary Video Installations,” Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, St. Louis (2014), “No Country: Contemporary Art for South and Southeast Asia,” Guggenheim UBS MAP Global Art Initiative, Asia Society, Hong Kong (2013), dOCUMENTA (13), Kassel (2012), and “The Best of Times, The Worst of Times: Rebirth and Apocalypse in Contemporary Art,” Kiev Biennale (2012). Vandy divides his time between Phnom Penh, Paris, and Taipei.