Sa Sa Art Projects is pleased to welcome you to the open studio of our former Pisaot Artist-in-Residence Song Seakleng, who has spent 8 weeks researching and experimenting on new works. This residence is made possible by the support of the Rei Foundation.

Born and raised in a Buddhist family, I went to a pagoda in my hometown on every occasion and studied there for almost a year. I enjoyed looking at the Buddha's halo while praying and preaching as its rhythm and pattern were so attractive, but I didn't pay much attention to it when I was young. This is until I happened to see Buddha's halo light in the shop along the street in town with Hip-hop music in the car on my way home after working on a short documentary about a well-known local rap artist whose music I found captivating.

The rhythm of Buddha's halo light merging with hip-hop music tolerated such spiritual transcendence while provoking power dynamics. Under these circumstances, my interest in Buddha's halo light and Hip-hop music has developed and turned to their backstory and concept. During this time, I discovered that Buddha's halo light represented the glow of holiness, while Hip-hop music embodied emancipation and resilience. Because of my curiosity and entry into the world of ultimate reality and delusional imagination, I fused Buddha's halo light with Hip-hop music along with the ambiguity of enlightenment and complex culture.

I now yearn to explore the worship of hallucination and transcendence that arise from light and sound in a dark hall. I believe that the relationship between culture and art has the power to dictate the fundamental values, concepts, and attitudes of humanity in the community.