Mao Sovanchandy

Mao Sovanchandy is a graduate architect, photographer, and artist whose work explores social structures and norms from her self-reflection and experiences. Her work centers around urban identity, environment and reflections of culture, and preservation. Her visual practices are often reminiscent of old heritage architectures that allow audiences to reconnect with memories and reflect on the present and future. She believes in the arts that express imagination to create reflections and trigger thoughts and build potential reimagination from a different perspective.

Mao SovanChandy (b.1999, Battambong, Cambodia) works and lives in Phnom Penh. She graduated from Paragon International University with a Bachelor of Science in Architecture in 2020. As a rising artist, she won a Dogma Prize Award exhibiting in Galerie Quynh Gallery, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. And she also participated in group exhibitions such as “Reflectance”, Treeline Gallery, Siem Reap (2022), Jakarta International Photo Festival (JIPFest) (2022), graduates’ exhibition of Contemporary Art Class “The Asymmetry”, Sa Sa Art Projects (2021), Penhart exhibition “The Simultaneous” (2021). She was also an intern and volunteer in the New Khmer Architecture research projects in which she interviewed elders about the heritage buildings, surveyed old buildings, and learned about the transformation of the architecture and urban development of Phnom Penh City. Such projects were the Vann Molyvann Project, Roung Kon Project, and the city hall of Phnom Penh (2018-2020).