THREE LARGE TREES

In this painting engraved on gilded paper glued to wood, Kim Leng Ung literally inscribes memory into the material. The trees, drawn in charcoal and Indian ink, appear at once fragile silhouettes and indelible imprints. The engraving marks the surface like a scar, giving the landscape a tactile and symbolic depth.

The luminous and precious golden background contrasts with the dark lines and rougher areas. It gives the whole a spiritual aura, like a secular icon dedicated to nature and memory. Touches of colored acrylic break this gravity, introducing bursts of life, signs of resistance.

Through this work, the artist explores the dialogue between destruction and regeneration, memory and survival. Nature, engraved in gold and marked by black, becomes a metaphor for Cambodia's collective history, between pain and rebirth. Kim Leng Ung thus offers a vision where fragility transforms into strength, and where art becomes a sanctuary of memory.