Kanha Hul (b.1999)
Kanha was born in a rural area in Siem Reap Province and is currently a resident artist at Open Studio Cambodia in Siem Reap city. Kanha feels art is essential to her soul as a mode of self-expression and is deeply connected to her daily artistic practice. Her multidisciplinary artwork mainly incorporates photography and performance art with painting, paper cutting, and stencil techniques. Thematically, her work often highlights the role of women in society, questions society's deeply held beliefs, and celebrates the women in her life. Kanha is the recipient of the Treeline Urban Resort Artist Grant (2020), and has been an invited speaker and art instructor by the United Nations Women i4i Conference (2020) and NOMADIX Arts Festival (2020). Please email for purchase inquiries and pricing. SUPPORT THE ARTISTS OF OPEN STUDIO CAMBODIA DURING THE PANDEMIC IN THE MONTH OF MAY 2021
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Selected Exhibitions & Awards
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"The Caretaker" (2021)
Kanha Hul,
photo, ink, acrylic, graphite
17 x 12 inches (44 x 30 cm)
"She is a simple woman who loves to do housework. She likes to stay home, take care of children and her role as a good wife. She tries to take good care of the things around the house, which is the traditional role of the housewife. She really enjoys her housework. Some women prefer to work outside of the home. I know women’s preferences are different than others.
Everyone is human. We all have the same things inside, as represented by the bones I drew on this picture. Sometimes we take one road or another road and we don't know where the future will lead us right but we will always be humans, the same as each other.
All women are exactly the same, but their choices are different."
Everyone is human. We all have the same things inside, as represented by the bones I drew on this picture. Sometimes we take one road or another road and we don't know where the future will lead us right but we will always be humans, the same as each other.
All women are exactly the same, but their choices are different."
"Elevate" (2021)
Photo, ink, acrylic, graphite
17 x 12 inches (44 x 30 cm)
"Phases of the Moon" (2021)
Kanha Hul
Photo, acrylic
17 x 12 inches (44 x 31 cm)
“The moon represents powerful feminine energy. It signifies wisdom, intuition, birth, death, reincarnation, and a spiritual connection.Her cyclical course also signifies the rhythm of life within us. The sarong belongs to women. I added gold paint on the sarong to show that women have the same value as gold.”
"The Moon Wanes" (2021)
Kanha Hul, photo, acrylic
17.5 x 12 inches (44 x 30.50 cm) SOLD
“The moon wanes and gradually appears less and less round, after the full moon. The passing of time is like the moon’s phases. we must make it worthwhile and not let time run away from us. The sarong belongs to women. I added gold paint on the sarong to show that women have the same value as gold. This sarong wraps the woman’s body like a fence, to protect herself. A Cambodian woman is the life source for her community and must survive hardships to provide for her family, like the hardy rice plant.”
"A New Day Rises" (2021)
Kanha Hul
Photo, acrylic
17 x 12 inches (44 x 31 cm)
"The moon is the only astronomical object you can easily see in the day blue sky apart from the sun. The third quarter moon rises in the middle of the night and sets in the middle of the day. Like the moon in the sky, you can see your soul apart from your body. You rise in the night, and in the daytime you hold what you have in your hand and make it yours. The support you have behind you is like the bright rays of the sun. The sun and moon keep going, setting and rising each day. The sarong belongs to women. Women have the same value as the gold added to this sarong. I hold the sarong wrapped around my body like a fence, to protect myself and my value.”
"Participation" (2021) Kanha Hul,
photo, acrylic
17 x 12 inches (44 x 31 cm) SOLD
"One Hundred Hands"
Kanha Hul became inspired by a well-known Cambodian proverb, which reads “women have 100 hands.” Inspired by this proverb and funded by the grant she won from Treeline Urban Resort Artist Grant program, she created a new series of work entitled, “One Hundred Hands” with her community in her home village in Kralanh District, Siem Reap. This series was exhibited at Treeline Urban Resort from November 21, 2020 - February 28, 2021.
Kanha was reminded of her mother's words, "as women, we must engage in endless multi-tasking in our roles as wives, mothers, housekeepers, cleaners, cooks, and our various other roles.” In 2020, Kanha held a workshop with women in her home village during which she became inspired by their stories. She offered new sarongs (traditional wrap skirts) to the women in her village in exchange for their old ones. Once the exchange was made, she asked them to collectively sew the used ones into a large single installation piece which she then used as a prop for a photo shoot at several locations throughout the village including the lush green rice fields. Several women participated and she also staged several self portraits. Sometimes the sarong installation became a sort of cocoon she wrapped herself in, other times it appeared as a burdensome load a woman was pulling across a vast, empty landscape.
Her series pays homage to the stories of the women in her village, translated into visual images. Bringing attention to the proverb "women have 100 hands" and the voices of women in her village, she attempts to shed light on the tension between traditional and contemporary female roles in her society.
Her photographs combine mixed media elements to printed photographs, including hand-cut paper, stencil, paint, and ink. In the first iteration of the exhibition at Treeline Urban Resort, she presents six interdisciplinary framed works and the sarong piece sewn by the villagers as an installation.
Kanha was reminded of her mother's words, "as women, we must engage in endless multi-tasking in our roles as wives, mothers, housekeepers, cleaners, cooks, and our various other roles.” In 2020, Kanha held a workshop with women in her home village during which she became inspired by their stories. She offered new sarongs (traditional wrap skirts) to the women in her village in exchange for their old ones. Once the exchange was made, she asked them to collectively sew the used ones into a large single installation piece which she then used as a prop for a photo shoot at several locations throughout the village including the lush green rice fields. Several women participated and she also staged several self portraits. Sometimes the sarong installation became a sort of cocoon she wrapped herself in, other times it appeared as a burdensome load a woman was pulling across a vast, empty landscape.
Her series pays homage to the stories of the women in her village, translated into visual images. Bringing attention to the proverb "women have 100 hands" and the voices of women in her village, she attempts to shed light on the tension between traditional and contemporary female roles in her society.
Her photographs combine mixed media elements to printed photographs, including hand-cut paper, stencil, paint, and ink. In the first iteration of the exhibition at Treeline Urban Resort, she presents six interdisciplinary framed works and the sarong piece sewn by the villagers as an installation.
"Lullaby" (2020) Kanha Hul, photo, acrylic, 16 x 10.5 inches (40 x 26.5 cm) SOLD
"Repair" (2020) Kanha Hul, photo, graphite, acrylic, 31 x 21 inches (80 x 53 cm)
"Compensate" (2020) Kanha Hul, photo, acrylic, 16 x 10 inches (40 x 26 cm) SOLD
"Discarded" (2020) Kanha Hul, photo, ink, SOLD
"Intuition" (2020) Kanha Hul, photo, ink, 16 x 10 inches (40 x 26.50 cm) SOLD
"Like a Dream" (2020) Kanha Hul, photo, acrylic, 31 x 21 inches (80 x 53 cm)
"Duality" (2020) Kanha Hul, photo, acrylic, ink, 16 x 10.5 inches (40 x 26.5 cm) SOLD
“Mend” (2020)
Kanha Hul
photo, acrylic, graphite
16 x 24 inches (40 x 60 cm)
“Seeking Refuge” (2020)
Kanha Hul
photo, ink, acrylic
16 x 24 inches (40 x 60 cm)
“Resistance” (2020)
Kanha Hul
photo, ink, acrylic
16 x 24 inches (40 x 60 cm)
“Balanced” (2020)
Kanha Hul
photo, acrylic
16 x 9 inches (40 x 23 cm)
“Moving Forward” (2020)
Kanha Hul
photo, acrylic
31 x 21 inches (80 x 54 cm) SOLD
"Stabilize" (2021), Kanha Hul, photo, acrylic 23x5 x 16 inches (60cm x 40 cm) SOLD
"This piece is about the responsibilities a Cambodian woman has for her whole family. She is responsible for everything in life, she has to be a good sister, mother and wife. She is always trying to balance herself and her family’s needs. No matter how hard she works, she sometimes closes her eyes and reflects on the good things in her life, and how she stood up strong to do her job. She is like a pillar of fire which illuminates everyone.
There is a deeply held proverb in the Khmer culture, “Men are like gold, women are like white cloth.” This means men can make mistakes in their life but like gold, can be “cleaned,” so they are bright and new again, as before. Women on the other hand will remain stained forever, for all the world to see their error, however small.
The golden light coming from her body represents the perseverance she must continue to have in this situation as she tries to find solutions for the issues in her life. She is standing in a green and golden rice field. Rice is the main part of Cambodian food and needs to be strong against natural disasters such as exposure to bad weather and drought. A Cambodian woman is the life source for their communities and must survive hardships to provide for their families like the rice plant."
There is a deeply held proverb in the Khmer culture, “Men are like gold, women are like white cloth.” This means men can make mistakes in their life but like gold, can be “cleaned,” so they are bright and new again, as before. Women on the other hand will remain stained forever, for all the world to see their error, however small.
The golden light coming from her body represents the perseverance she must continue to have in this situation as she tries to find solutions for the issues in her life. She is standing in a green and golden rice field. Rice is the main part of Cambodian food and needs to be strong against natural disasters such as exposure to bad weather and drought. A Cambodian woman is the life source for their communities and must survive hardships to provide for their families like the rice plant."
"Tolerance" (2021)
Kanha Hul, photo, acrylic, ink, graphite, 24 x 16 inches (60 cm x 40 cm)
"Cambodian women are seen as patient, they listen to others, and sometimes they hear negativity directed at them. They are criticised for their actions if their actions are seen as disrespectful to traditional Cambodian culture. But, women are simply trying their best to live their lives as a career professional or as a housewife for example. Why are women blamed for their life choices?
I added gold fingernail paint to make the point that it is not something like nail polish that determines a woman's behavior. Many times in my country, when women paint their nails, people look down on them and call them prostitutes. I wanted to add bright gold nail polish to emphasize the idea that women should have the right to do what they like and it doesn’t mean they are doing something bad or wrong. I chose gold color to describe that this woman, and all women have the same value as gold.
In the piece, I've cut away portions of the photo to reveal the background which is a “stencil map” in red ink, which represents the idea that the multiple roads we may take on our lives are endless. if there is a way to walk, even if it’s very difficult, we must find solutions. We don’t have to always choose the way others want us to choose.
Everyone is human. We all have the same things inside, as represented by the bones I drew on this picture. Sometimes we take one road or another road and we don't know where the future will lead us right but we will always be humans, the same as each other."
I added gold fingernail paint to make the point that it is not something like nail polish that determines a woman's behavior. Many times in my country, when women paint their nails, people look down on them and call them prostitutes. I wanted to add bright gold nail polish to emphasize the idea that women should have the right to do what they like and it doesn’t mean they are doing something bad or wrong. I chose gold color to describe that this woman, and all women have the same value as gold.
In the piece, I've cut away portions of the photo to reveal the background which is a “stencil map” in red ink, which represents the idea that the multiple roads we may take on our lives are endless. if there is a way to walk, even if it’s very difficult, we must find solutions. We don’t have to always choose the way others want us to choose.
Everyone is human. We all have the same things inside, as represented by the bones I drew on this picture. Sometimes we take one road or another road and we don't know where the future will lead us right but we will always be humans, the same as each other."
"Expect" (2021)
Kanha Hul
31.5 x 23.5 inches (80cm x 60 cm) SOLD
"The piece is about the expectation of trust between one person and another. Three women stand back-to-back, facing different directions to keep a “look out.” Turning their backs on each other proves their trust and cooperation to protect each other in all situations.
The sarong symbolically belongs to all women and I added gold paint on the sarong to show that women have the same value as gold. The sarong wrapped around them is like a fence to protect them and the golden light coming from their body shows their resilience.
The sun in the distance represents the passing of time.
There is a deeply held proverb in the Khmer culture, “Men are like gold, women are like white cloth.” This means men can make mistakes in their life but like gold, can be “cleaned,” so they are bright and new again, as before. Women, on the other hand will remain stained forever, for all the world to see their error, however small.
Now, the role of women is changing. it's not like before; they try to protect their value."
The sarong symbolically belongs to all women and I added gold paint on the sarong to show that women have the same value as gold. The sarong wrapped around them is like a fence to protect them and the golden light coming from their body shows their resilience.
The sun in the distance represents the passing of time.
There is a deeply held proverb in the Khmer culture, “Men are like gold, women are like white cloth.” This means men can make mistakes in their life but like gold, can be “cleaned,” so they are bright and new again, as before. Women, on the other hand will remain stained forever, for all the world to see their error, however small.
Now, the role of women is changing. it's not like before; they try to protect their value."
Body Series
Kanha Hul created this series in 2020 in her home village in Kralanh District, rural Siem Reap province. She worked with community members there to create intimate, often abstracted compositions made up of body parts. Her work aims to describe the connection between the physical body and ones hidden nostalgia, trauma, and metaphorical "road map" of life events, represented by ink sprayed stencils on top of printed photographs. The repetitive use of gold in this series is drawn from traditional Cambodian proverb, "Men are like gold, women are like white cloth," meaning men are able to recover from their past missteps and shine themselves off again to their original brilliance, unlike women who carry the stain of their mistakes forever. The artist attempts to reappropriate this notion by repeatedly adding gold to her compositions, sometimes as rings or halos emanating from behind or below figures, sometimes as filling for creases in the soles of feet.
"Camouflage" (2020), Kanha Hul edited, photo, ink 17 x 12 inches (43 x 30 cm)
"Unity" (2020), Kanha Hul, photo, acrylic, 17 x 12 inches (43 x 30 cm)
"Scar Map" (2020) Kanha Hul, photo, ink, 17 x 12 inches (43 x 30 cm)
"Listen" (2020) Kanha Hul, photo, acrylic, 17 x 12 inches (43 x 30 cm) SOLD
"Empathy" (2020), Kanha Hul, photo, acrylic, thread, 17 x 12 inches (43 x 30 cm)
"Earthly" (2020) Kanha Hul, photo, acrylic, 17 x 12 inches (43 x 30 cm)
"Language of my Body" (2020), Kanha Hul, photo, ink, 16,5 x 12 inches (42 x 30 cm)
"Human" (2020), Kanha Hul
photo, acrylic
17 x 12 inches (43 x 30 cm) SOLD
“Understanding” (2020), Kanha Hul, photo, acrylic, thread, 17 x 12 inches (43 x 30 cm)
"Connected to the Earth" (2020) Kanha Hul, photo, acrylic, 17 x 12 inches (43 x 30 cm)
"Afraid to Recognize Myself"
In this early 2020 series, Kanha Hul examines herself, as a young, unmarried, Cambodian woman striking out on her own in pursuit of her artistic. career. Shortly after joining Open Studio Cambodia, Kanha began experimenting with self-portraiture, photography, and developing her unique interdisciplinary artistic aesthetic which combines digital photography, printed, then embellished with paint, thread, ink, stencil, and paper cut techniques. This series touches on themes of feminism, self-determination, critically examining the traditional roles of women and children in her society, with a strong focus on concealing her own face, a metaphor for her own personal journey to realizing her own potential as an artist and independent woman.
"100 Reasons" (2020) Kanha Hul, photo, hand-cut, acrylic, 21 x 31 inches (53 x 79 cm)
This piece is derived from stories my mother told me as a young girl when I lived with her in the rural Cambodian countryside. She dared to wonder why men in our society could be forgiven by our community and culture for their mistakes but women could not. She explained to me that as a young woman, I would be shown less forgiveness if I should make a misstep in my life choices because of my gender.
There is a deeply held proverb in the Khmer culture, “Men are like gold, women are like white cloth.” This means men can make mistakes in their life but like gold, can be “cleaned,” so they are bright and new again, as before. Women on the other hand will remain stained forever, for all the world to see their error, however small, forever.
In this piece, I’ve cut away portions of the photo to reveal gold acrylic paint shining from beneath the land. In my work I often reappropriate the color gold and apply it to my ideal of self-forgiveness and societal forgiveness for women in my culture. The red string, a traditional cotton bracelet tied around the wrists of brides and grooms is sewn into the land, symbolizing how we are bound to the traditions of our culture, however outdated and unjust. The land itself has been trodden over with cow’s hoof prints, as the lives of impoverished women in my village and others across the world have been trodden on by deeply held biased gender roles and beliefs.
The earth we see here is the real land my family has cultivated rice on for generations. Through genocide and war, my family’s hands tended this land to grow rice to sustain ourselves as they still do today. My mom was a single mother and gave me up to live in an orphanage in Siem Reap city when I was eleven years old so that I could have a chance at an education and a better life.
Today I work full time as an artist with Open Studio Cambodia. I now have the chance to re-explore the traditional, rural culture I grew up in through the lens of contemporary art. I hope that other women from similar backgrounds as me can imagine a new and different way of being a Cambodian woman today.
There is a deeply held proverb in the Khmer culture, “Men are like gold, women are like white cloth.” This means men can make mistakes in their life but like gold, can be “cleaned,” so they are bright and new again, as before. Women on the other hand will remain stained forever, for all the world to see their error, however small, forever.
In this piece, I’ve cut away portions of the photo to reveal gold acrylic paint shining from beneath the land. In my work I often reappropriate the color gold and apply it to my ideal of self-forgiveness and societal forgiveness for women in my culture. The red string, a traditional cotton bracelet tied around the wrists of brides and grooms is sewn into the land, symbolizing how we are bound to the traditions of our culture, however outdated and unjust. The land itself has been trodden over with cow’s hoof prints, as the lives of impoverished women in my village and others across the world have been trodden on by deeply held biased gender roles and beliefs.
The earth we see here is the real land my family has cultivated rice on for generations. Through genocide and war, my family’s hands tended this land to grow rice to sustain ourselves as they still do today. My mom was a single mother and gave me up to live in an orphanage in Siem Reap city when I was eleven years old so that I could have a chance at an education and a better life.
Today I work full time as an artist with Open Studio Cambodia. I now have the chance to re-explore the traditional, rural culture I grew up in through the lens of contemporary art. I hope that other women from similar backgrounds as me can imagine a new and different way of being a Cambodian woman today.
"Holding" (2020), Kanha Hul, photo, acrylic, 11.5 x 16.5 inches (29 x 42 cm)
"Afraid to Recognize Myself" (2019), Kanha Hul, photo, ink, acrylic - 12 x 17 inches (30 x 43 cm ) - SOLD
"Breaking the Rules" (2020), Kanha Hul, photo, ink, thread, 17 x 12 inches (43 x 30 cm) SOLD
"Roadmap to my Village" (2020) Kanha Hul, photo, ink, 16,5 x 12 inches (42 x 30 cm)
"Forbidden" (2020), Kanha Hul, photo, acrylic, 31.5 x 21 inches (80 x 53 cm)
"Only Me" (2020), Kanha Hul, photo, acrylic, 11.5 x 16.5 inches (29 x 42 cm)
"Hiding" (2019), Kanha Hul, photo, ink, acrylic - SOLD
"Remind Me" (2020), Kanha Hul, photo, ink, acrylic - 12 x 17 inches (30 x 43 cm)
"Looking Forward" (2020), Kanha Hul, photo, acrylic, 11.5 x 16.5 inches (29 x 42 cm)