Stride is Khun Vannak’s first solo exhibition which brings together two bodies of his work, marking the artist’s developing practice in photography and performance making. “Stride” presents a journey of an artist in learning about oneself and his relationships with others through the body and actions.

Vannak’s work usually starts from his personal stories, an approach that he affirms as a form of honesty. In 2014, Vannak created his first body of work titled Numbers, in which he experimented with his body as a canvas for image making and a subject of photography. The work results in a series of photographs in which he himself poses at the centre with images of various number systems and cultural imageries projected on. The work comments on his own obsessions, and in effect those of humans too, on various belief systems whether scientific or cultural.

Having left his fractured family to live independently since he was 19, Vannak came to find performances at the church, where he has been singing and dancing, a form of healing and refuge. This remedial process through performances has extended beyond the religious purpose into the artistic practice. For example, in the photographic series titled Depend On (2015-2018) presented here in the exhibition, Vannak uses his body and props to explore and convey a journey of loss, attachment, dependency, healing, and self-discovery. In particular, Depend On 1 presents the artist standing strong and appearing determined, while a parasol—one that is supposed to provide shade and protection—floats away yet connected with him by strings. Or in Depend On 4, an outline of a vanishing figure appears to still connect with him and seems to accompany him like a cast shadow.