Two Oceans (2022—2023)

These photographs were made in Providence, Rhode Island, and nearby towns, where the third-largest Cambodian community in New England has taken root. While I was in college, I began creating portraits of families and friends connected through my mother—a nurse practitioner and Cambodian refugee. In the smallest state in America, lives overlap and intertwine, and each image contributes to a larger tapestry of shared memory.

The title Two Oceans speaks to both the closeness of Rhode Island’s Khmer community and our dual heritage in Cambodia and America. Like Rhode Island’s shores meeting the sea, our community is anchored in two places, carried across oceans.

During the Khmer Rouge genocide of the 1970s, Cambodia endured immeasurable loss—some of it documented by the regime at Tuol Sleng Prison. In response to this history, I turned to an 8x10 large-format camera and black-and-white film, reinterpreting and honoring those silenced stories while affirming the enduring spirit of my community.

Select Installations:
Lowell Community Health Center (04.23.25—05.24.25)
University of Iowa (03.17.25–04.05.25)
AAPI History Museum (Ongoing)
WaterFire Arts Center (05.30.24—06.30.24)
Massachusetts College of Art and Design (11.01.23—11.29.23)
Public Art Installation (11.29.22—01.01.23)
Rochester Institute of Technology (12.08.23—01.21.24)
AS220 (07.06.23—07.29.23)