The Monkeys Get Busy When The Monkey God Rests

Primates, especially monkeys and gibbons, hold cultural significance in Cambodia, playing a role in the country’s traditions, beliefs, and cultural expressions. Many folktales frequently depict monkeys as cunning, mischievous, and occasionally helpful characters. This illustration depicts a Lakhon Khol (masked dance-drama) dancer dressed as Hanuman alongside all 12 species of non-human primates found in Cambodia. Among these are the critically endangered pileated gibbon, vibrant red-shanked douc and the nocturnal and elusive pygmy slow loris.

Printed on premium art paper and sold unframed.

A4: 21cm x 29.7cm

A3: 29.7cm x 42cm

Joshua is a Singapore born artist now based in Phnom Penh. Ever since he successfully sold the only copy of his first original hand-drawn comic-book The Adventures of Hercules and Odysseus to his mother for a meal at the age of nine, Joshua Chiang has been filled with an unquenchable belief that he will achieve greatness in the realm of visual storytelling. In 2017, Joshua started Candid Cambodia, a collection of illustrations about what’s peculiar in Cambodia. He draws his inspiration from the day to day happenings in the streets of Phnom Penh. Joshua is probably most well-known in Cambodia for his pile-up art illustration of a motordop ferrying a large number of passengers and much more, capturing the spirit of anything goes in this country.