Wrapped Future II

Since 2009, Lim Sokchalina has been developing his Wrapped Future series in response to the construction boom fueled by international companies in Phnom Pehn. Galvanized iron sheets mark the boundaries of construction sites from their surrounding areas, concealing the land from the public’s view, and promising a “New Phnom Penh” behind their flimsy facades. In Wrapped Future II, 2019 Lim appropriates the visual cue of these iron fences, and installs them in sites that have been targeted for large-scale exploitation by business interests with strong support from local politicians. Removed from their urban context, the fences stand incongruously in the natural landscape and obscure the beauty of the Cambodian countryside. The work questions the concept of physical and representational boundaries as well as the differences between public and private spaces. It suggests that a future that brings development at the expense of local communities, culture, and the environment cannot be desirable.