Remaining with the Khmer Rouge: Contemporary Cambodian Performances Addressing Genocide in a Post-genocide Era

Abstract

This article examines how the legacies and experiences of the Khmer Rouge (1975)(1976)(1977)(1978)(1979) are expressed by contemporary dancers in Cambodia. It stems from the recognition that such works do not always resort to particular performative formats for their power and effectspecifically those that rely upon testimonial forms that promote the desire for showing, documenting, witnessing and healing. This is not to deny those dynamics in these works, nor the importance of them for artistic expression, but it is to consider how creative praxis can potentially open up additional, and culturally specific, responses to a genocidal era. In particular, the article draws upon Rebecca Schneider's (2011) ideas of performing remains to argue that the multiple temporalities of history are leading some artists to express experiences of the regime through forms of performance that articulate hope for the future.

The Bangsokol Requiem, affective intensification, and memory activation

“…Bangsokol gives voice to experiences and harm caused by the regime, including those of the post-conflict diaspora, but not so directly as the testimonies and reparation project efforts of local and overseas Cambodians at the ECCC. As Amanda Rogers has recently argued, contemporary art works need not resort to performative formats such as the testimony-witnessing dialectic for their power and effect (Rogers, 2022: 162; see also Kennedy, 2018). Recognisable performative gestures can be seen in the Requiem, such as that of intergenerational learning and dialogue, an oft-stated priority of restorative justice.…”

“…Overall, however, Bangsokol is most powerfully reparative beyond these more obvious representations. Like Rithy’s new images and some contemporary Cambodian dance, the Requiem took ‘a step sideways’, eschewing testimony and other didactic forms, to ‘create new, parallel histories for the future’ (Rogers, 2022: 162, 173).…”