A sculpture of Buddha in one of his various forms.
The Phnom Penh landfill, once notorious for being awash in people scavenging through its trash to make a living, now adorned in...art?
People in this area knew of Sna, but as you might imagine, not so much for his sculpting skills. Sna was one of a handful of transients looking to establish territory for dealing, and to him, the top of the landfill was like his castle, and away from prying eyes. Well, most.
It was also a place to explore his creativity.
I got word of his space from a friend and made my way there to see it for myself. When I arrived, I discovered sculptures assembled from things mostly found in the trash spread across the top of the landfill. Most of it looked intentional, even envisioned. Much of the work resembled the small shrines you'd normally find in Buddhist homes and temples. Others were harder to interpret but still pretty interesting, with so many little details in each one. Sna seemed proud to have someone to show it to and tried to explain where he got some of the items and what they meant.
Unfortunately, the 'exhibit' lasted barely a couple of weeks and then it all disappeared. Him, the sculptures, and even his home.
Sna holding a painting of Angkor Wat, which he claims was given to him by an NGO.
An elephant's foot, part of the remains of a temple fire. I was told it brings good luck.
Sna stands in front of the home he's put together. Like the sculptures, he's assembled most of his living space from items he's collected from the trash.
