- moni mekhala -

Moni Mekhala (or the Creation of Storms)
Video | 2:00 m:s | 2019

Artist Statement: Stories are an account of imaginary or real people and events. During ancient times, stories were typically told or performed before a group of people. Many of these stories attempted to help answer some of life’s most difficult questions. Because of this, they became integrated into rituals and other important cultural events. Although most stories are passed forward, some get lost due to cultural obscurity. With Moni Mekhala (or the Creation of Storms), I wanted to explore a new way of telling stories. To do this I took a Cambodian dance drama (Moni Mekhala Ream Eyso) as inspiration, focusing on an important scene where Moni Mekhala (the water goddess), throws her magical crystal ball up into the heavens, creating the first forms of lightning in order to defend herself against Ream Eyso (the fire god). The visuals are meant to present this portion of the story while also giving off a sense of wonder and fear relating back to how many civilizations felt toward the higher beings.