Kosal Meas
a stilted house over the Tonle Sap, Cambodia
Kosal is seventy-five and has spent his life on the Tonle Sap, moving between the floating villages and the provincial prison where he has been a barber for decades. In his small, stilted house, he has watched floodwaters rise over the years, whispering to the wooden piles that keep his slice of home above water. The prison walls have heard his quiet reassurances as much as the buzz of his clippers, and the inmates' stories linger with him long after he locks up for the day.
About
Obsession
The smell of a room post-tears
Voice
A whisper through woven reeds
Artistic Medium
Stencils carved into salvaged boat wood
Technique
Scorching designs with heated metal combs
Influences
Tonle Sap's water levels, inmates' sorrows, his sampan journeys
Materials
Weathered wooden boards from old sampans
Scale
As large as a boat hull
Selected 5 times · Last: April 04, 2026
