Collaring The Milk Churner

*$2 from each sale will be donated to Siem Reap Pagoda Cats - A charitable organization dedicated to the welfare, treatment, sterilization and adoption of stray cats living in a pagoda in Siem Reap.

Within traditional Cambodian beliefs, the cat is a symbol of good fortune. A cat is often carried around a new house during the house-warming ceremony or around the village to ask for rain at the end of the dry season. Cats are even used in the kings’ coronation ceremonies as they are believed to bring prosperity to the entire nation. This illustration is inspired by the famous Hindu myth “The Churning of the Sea of Milk” which in turn has inspired countless bas reliefs and temple bridge decorations all over Cambodia. Legend tells of spiritual beings known as Devas and Asuras extracting the nectar of immortality from the Sea of Milk by churning it with a giant serpent wrapped around a mountain. Joshua's illustration asks the question ­­— what if a giant cat was used instead?

Printed on premium art paper and sold unframed.

Long size: 42cm x 21cm 

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.