Whispered insults, social isolation, and lost opportunities, Morn Chear is channelling the stigma he has endured since he lost both his hands a decade ago into artwork that highlights the hardships of Cambodia\u2019s disabled. At 20, he was electrocuted in a construction accident and both his hands developed gangrene, pushing doctors to amputate them below the elbow.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was depressed, I did not know what I could do to earn money to feed my family,\u201d he says of the shock he felt when he woke up from surgery.Ten years later, Chear has found his place at an arts collective based in Siem Reap, where he specialises in Linocut block printing, a technique rarely used in Cambodia. Open Studio Cambodia represent several contemporary artists, selling their pieces out of an airy studio in the heart of a city famed for the Angkor Wat temple complex.<\/p>\n
Linocut block printing requires a deft handle to chisel a scene into a block of linoleum and then applying ink on the print depite losing his arms. \u201cMost of my artwork is all about my real stories,\u201d he says, gesturing at a piece that features himself sitting in a hammock as others walk towards a pagoda. Chear remembers the incident of his friends snubbing him clear as day: \u201cDon\u2019t call him to come with us. He is handicapped. It\u2019s embarrassing,\u201d he recalls them whispering.<\/p>\n
Cambodia has undergone significant changes in the past two decades, with cities such as Siem Reap and its capital Phnom Penh developing at break-neck pace to satisfy a growing tourist- and export-reliant economy. But health and education remain a sticking point and for people with disabilities, access is even more challenging. A survey last year by the Cambodian Disabled People\u2019s Organisation found that 60 percent of the country\u2019s disabled live below the poverty line. Government officials say 310,000 people out of Cambodia\u2019s 16 million-strong population have disabilities , although the number is likely higher because many fall between the gaps. Discrimination is rife, with Cambodians seeing the disabled as street beggars or a burden to their families. For Chear, the social isolation from once-friendly peers was the most cutting. He was nicknamed \u201cA-Kambot\u201d by villagers, a derogatory Khmer word for the handicapped, after his return home, which \u201cpierced\u201d him deeply, and made him question whether life was worth living. Relief came in 2015 when he was recruited into a non-profit group\u2019s training programme, teaching him contemporary dance, drawing, computer skills, and even English. Working with Open Studio Cambodia in 2018 seemed a natural move because it fuelled his drive to use art to persuade the public to see the disabled as capable people.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome people who looked down on me in the past have become friendly again,\u201d says Chear, adding that his artwork has been displayed in the US and France. But now, with billions worldwide forced to remain home because of the Coronavirus pandemic, he is reminded of the social isolation he endured right after he lost his arms.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hope we will overcome it,\u201d he says from his home in Kampot province, returning after the workshop was temporarily closed by the Coronavirus lockdown. \u201cIf I can\u2019t make art, I don\u2019t know what I can do,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Discrimination is rife, with Cambodians seeing the disabled as street beggars or burden to their families<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":4305,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_FSMCFIC_featured_image_caption":"Double amputee artist Morn Chear adjusting a tool while creating a linocut block printed design at the Open Studio in Siem Reap province. Whispered insults, social isolatio, and lost opportunities Morn Chear is channeling the stigma he has endured since he lost both his hands a decade ago into artwork that highlights the hardships of Cambodia's disabled.AFP\r\n","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_nocaption":null,"_FSMCFIC_featured_image_hide":null,"footnotes":""},"categories":[258],"tags":[826,825],"yoast_head":"\n