This work challenges our political construct of affiliation to “nationality”, “ethnicity” and that of “identity” in the light of our globalised world, with migration, forced displacements and rapid change.

Red Lights & Mekong/Not Scarlet is an installation that celebrates life and the empowerment of human spirits to transcend the scars of war. Mekong refers to the nourishing river as the motherly provider of its river-side communities. It is not scarlet that alludes to the type of red: a cardinal red, the colour of fire and life in the present as opposed to a more bloody scarlet red, colour of the past genocide.
This work raises issues on the mean-ing of life, memory and identity after the period of war. Sieved by a subjectivity that springs neither from a foreign nor a national/local point of view, it tells the story of the Khmers’ smile and their strong desire for life in times of reconstruction.
A Crown of flowers, sea corals, forest foliage, bride's room or women’s womb are some depictions in “Red lights”. The organic quality produced by knottings of red cotton on giant fishing nets done by thousands of primary school children, and the uniqueness of each of the 1,400 printed engravings, set up together, allow a polyphonic reading of the work. The templates of the plates are a reference to the designs used by ethnic minorities of South East Asia. The motifs are traditionally engraved

by local craftsmen. The hybridisation of their design and their shift-over from their everyday use to the new ground of a contemporary art raises questions about the legitimacy of the concept of authenticity. This work tries to challenge our political construct of affiliation to “nationality”, “ethnicity” and that of “identity” in the light of our globalised world, with the flux of migration, forced displacements and rapid changes.