Controlled explosion sounds on BBC's Save our Sounds

If you haven't been to BBC's Save our Sounds map, you should visit the site right now, and I'm not just saying this because they uploaded sounds from our field trip. You can click on pretty much any country in the world to listen to sounds that people have added. It's addictive.


To hear what a (controlled) detonation of landmines and explosive remnants of war sounds like, go to the map and click on the sound icon in west Cambodia. This sound was recorded while the artists were visiting CMAC's demining activities in Battambang.


Here's what's happening:

After everyone has exited the field and is standing at a safe distance (500 meters per the Cambodian Mine Action Standards), a CMAC deminer calls out on a loudspeaker in all directions to tell anyone who may still be out there to clear the field. Next, he sound an alarm, shouts “Moy, Pea, Buy!” [1, 2, 3 in Khmer], and finally there is a deafening BOOM!!!



The destroyed items were found and removed from the 20 hectare minefield being cleared. Once all of the land is cleared, 36 families will be able to safely use it for farming purposes.


You can also submit sounds you've recorded.


Go now!

Propellerheads' Will White is mixing the soundscape

We've decided to add to the exhibit by doing a soundscape, which is basically a collection of sounds recorded from the artist field visits that will complement the visual art.

Sasha borrowed some fancy sound equipment to record our field trips (everything from landmine explosions to children laughing with some oinking pigs and mooing cows thrown in), and Will White, a dj based in the UK (and longtime friend of Sasha's), has kindly offered his skills to turn the recordings into a soundscape that will play throughout the exhibit.

This is sure to be a great piece of work as Will is one half of the Propellerheads (best known for their big hit on the James Bond Tomorrow Never Dies soundtrack), and he knows what he's doing.

Hope to be able to upload the soundscape this once the exhibit opens. In the meantime, you'll have to use your imagination.

Srey Bandol opening on 7 August

One of the artists, Srey Bandol, will have an opening next Friday 7 August at Java Cafe in Phnom Penh. The exhibit is called the Storm and will include paintings, drawings, and collages on metal.

The fun starts at 7 pm. Hope to see you there.

Mark your calendars: 1 October opening in Phnom Penh

It's official! We're going to host the Phnom Penh opening of the exhibit on 1 October at Bophana Audiovisual Resource Center.

Bophana is the perfect place to host it because tons of people -- both Cambodians and foreigners -- pass through every day. If you're based in Phnom Penh, you should check out the space now as there is always something interesting going on.

a landmine riddle

What do soccer...

rice wine...

and pigs...

...have to do with landmines in Cambodia?

Come back soon to find out more.

Casualty rates in Cambodia: Tuesday 16 June

After our brief internal meeting, representatives from the Cambodia Mine/ERW Victim Information System (CMVIS), which collects and analyzes information about landmine and ERW casualties and provides emergency survivor assistance services, came to give the artists a brief about mine/ERW casualty statistics.

The CMVIS project manager and two data gatherers presented casualty statistics and explained how they collect information by going to accident locations and interviewing victims and their families. Data gatherers work in each of Cambodia's provinces, and the statistics are distributed widely to be used for numerous purposes, including the mine clearance planning process.

Before the figures were presented, the artists guessed how many casualties (which includes both injuries and death) Cambodia had in 2008. Estimates ranged from 10 to 10,000. No one came close to the actual number.

When mine clearance operations began in the early nineties, there were more than 2,000 casualties every year. In 2008, this figure was 266, and so far, statistics indicate that there will be a further drop in 2009. While 266 casualties is still an unacceptably high number, it is significantly lower than previous years. Studies suggest that the main reason for the drop is better targeting of mine clearance and mine risk education (MRE) activities. As the systems continue to be refined, casualty rates should drop even further – as long as the funding is in place to support these activities.

Since 1994, CMVIS has been run by the Cambodian Red Cross (CRC) in partnership with Handicap International Belgium (HIB), but this year HIB is handing its duties over to the CRC to run CMVIS independently.

When we get to the minefields tomorrow, the artists will see firsthand how people are directly benefitting from clearance activities.

The artist field visits begin: Tuesday 16 June

The first group of artists headed to Battambang on Tuesday 16 June. Battambang is known for its fertile soil, fragrant rice, and tasty fruit -- and for being the province most affected by landmines and ERW.

Chhim Sothy, Suos Sodavy, Meas Raksmey (the interpreter), and I met early in the morning to make the four-hour drive from Phnom Penh to Battambang, where we met Tor Vutha and Srey Bandol, who live there. Sasha Constable and Ben Thynal joined us from Siem Reap.

Tor Vutha and Srey Bandol kindly allowed us to use a meeting space at their workplace, Phare Ponleu Selpak, which is an academic and art school with around 2,000 students. Phare Ponleu Selpak "originated in 1986 in Site 2 Refugee Camp on the Thai border. The idea of a creative association, which would use art and expression to help young refugees overcome the trauma of war, emerged from drawing workshops held for children in the camps. This original idea continued after the refugees returned to their homeland, and PPS was formally founded in 1994 by a group of former Site 2 children."

We had our meeting in a breezy traditional wood building decorated with students’ artwork, and our discussions were accompanied by music from a band practicing for the circus school.




After introductions and a review of the purpose of the project, each of the artists shared a bit about their past experience with landmines and ERW. There were many moving accounts about friends or family who had suffered.

For example, Srey Bandol explained how he had to walk through fields of casualties in the 1980s, but he then affectionately recalled an uncle who liked to tease him with the prosthetic leg he had to use after a landmine accident.

Several of the artists also fondly spoke of playing with bombies and other ERW when they were young – they were aware of the danger but couldn't resist picking them up because of their toy-like appearance.

Chhim Sothy, who grew corn and tended fields in a war​zone, told everyone about a newlywed couple he knew. Soon after they married, the husband went off to battle and lost his leg in a landmine accident, which meant his pregnant wife had to shoulder the extra burden of supporting the family.

Hopefully, after the field visits, the artists will have new stories to tell about the progress being that's being made in addressing the mine and ERW problem in Cambodia.

Field trips

The 10 artists were divided into two groups for the field visits with organizations conducting mine clearance, mine risk education, and survivor assistance activities in northwest Cambodia.

The first week, we'll visit the operations of the Cambodian Mine Action Centre (CMAC), the Cambodia Mine/ERW Victim Information System (CMVIS) run by the the Cambodian Red Cross, Spirit of Soccer, Handicap International France, and Jesuit Service Cambodia in Battambang, which is the most mine-affected province in Cambodia.

The second group of artists will go to Banteay Meanchey, another heavily-affected province in the northwest, to visit the activities of CMAC, CMVIS, ActionAid Australia, and the Solidarity for Disabled People Organization.

The site visits were selected based on the location and availability of the organizations to host the artists. There were many other great activities we would have visited if we'd had endless time.

All 10 artists will then meet in Phnom Penh to visit the Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority (CMAA), which is the regulatory body for Cambodian mine action. They will also hear from representatives of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces who have shared their demining expertise as peacekeepers in Sudan through the United Nations Missions in Sudan.

Tor Vutha, Artist

As a child growing up in the refugee camps on the Thai border in the 1980s, Tor Vutha, 34, fought boredom by learning to paint. From there, he became involved in artistic productions and has decorated circus shows in France, Spain, Germany, Switzerland, Algeria, and Reunion Island, and has painted churches and pagodas in Thailand. Tor Vutha is now an art teacher at the Phare Ponleu Selpak art school in Battambang.

Suos Sodavy, Artist

Suos Sodavy, 53, is originally from Phnom Penh but lived in Budapest, Hungary, for 10 years, where he earned degrees from the Ecole Normale Superieure de l’Education and the Academy of Fine Arts. He mostly paints with oils, and has exhibited extensively in Southeast Asia as well as in Hungary. Suos Sodavy currently works at the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts in Phnom Penh.

Chhim Sothy, Artist

Chhim Sothy, 40, is an internationally-renowned artist who has exhibited throughout Southeast Asia and Europe. In 2000, he was chosen by ASEAN to represent Cambodia. Chhim Sothy is primarily a painter but also has extensive experience with furniture design and landscaping. His style combines traditional and contemporary elements. He is from Phnom Penh and works at the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts.

Srey Bandol, Artist

Srey Bandol, 36, learned to paint while growing up in the refugee camps on the border with Thailand. He vividly remembers carrying landmines and keeping them in his house as a child. He later worked as a military nurse along the Thai-Cambodian border, caring for victim of landmines and ERW. Today, he lives in Battambang province and teaches art at Phare Art School. He is an incredible drawer.

Ben Thynal, Artist

Ben Thynal, the youngest in the group, is a 23-year-old artist from Battambang’s Rottanak Mondol district, which has the highest landmine/ERW casualty rate in Cambodia. After studying drawing and painting at the Phare Ponleu Selapak Art School in Battambang, he studied at Build Bright University in Phnom Penh. He mostly paints but also has experience with shadow puppets and sculpture. He now lives and works as an artist in Siem Reap.