About the Artist
Oussa Bun is a Cambodia-born and Asheville-raised 22 years old photographer and conceptual artist based in Los Angeles. Oussa seeks to explore his own identity through sexuality, body, the self, and most recently, through cultural and family background.
Baksbat: I/Slave, 2022
About the Work
Baksbat - broken courage, the state of being so afraid that one avoids anything that may put their life in danger. Psychological reactions to traumatic events in Cambodia during the 1970s, notably the Khmer Rouge regime, form the basis of this term. Baksbat is a series of works that explore how the Khmer Rouge affect the identity of the Cambodian people and how the traumas of their history, struggles, and sacrifices sparked a rebirth of a new identity. I/Salve is the first of the series in Baksbat that explores the base core identity of the Cambodian people by the repetition of the word ខ្ញុំ (khnhom). In Khmer (official Cambodian language), ខ្ញុំ(khnhom) means I, me, or myself. It can also means slave. This body of work is centered around the word ខ្ញុំ (khnhom) and offers a better understanding of what it means when a Cambodian utters the word ខ្ញុំ (khnhom).