Sopheap Pich’s Bamboo City

A Cambodian artist builds city blocks from bamboo inside the Henry.

By Seattle Mag November 18, 2011

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This article originally appeared in the December 2011 issue of Seattle magazine.

Imagine the skyline of a city built entirely of rattan and you’ll have an idea of what Sopheap Pich is up to at the Henry Art Gallery.

The Cambodian-born sculptor augments this bendable wood with bamboo, plywood and metal wire to create stunning large-scale sculptures that appear both substantial and ready to snap.

His current work, “Compound,” is a commentary on the destruction/construction upheaval caused by the modernization of Phnom Penh, and how a byproduct of reaching toward the sky is the annihilation of natural resources below.

Through 4/1/2012. Times and prices vary. Henry Art Gallery, 15th Avenue NE & 41st Street; 206.543.2280; henryart.org.

 

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