“The Guardian of Shadows” — A KHMER Artist’s Story

Every visit to the National Museum of Cambodia left a mark on me. The KHMER Hanuman, the fearless warrior and symbol of loyalty and strength always stood out as more than a mythical figure. And Sbek Thom, the sacred KHMER shadow puppetry, carried a presence that felt timeless, as if each carved leather figure held generations of stories within it.

One day I sketched the KHMER Hanuman, not as the warrior I had seen in books, but as I felt him: a guardian of our KHMER culture, carrying the stories of my people in his hands. And instead of a weapon, I placed a Sbek Thom shadow puppet in his grasp. That puppet represented every tale carried through war, migration, survival, and rebirth. It represented RESILIENCE.

In my design, the KHMER Hanuman doesn’t fight a demon.
He protects a story.

He stands as a reminder that our KHMER heritage is not just history… it is a living spirit that travels with us, shapes us, strengthens us, and calls us back HOME when we drift too far.

Creating this design is more than art for me.
It’s a promise.

A promise that I will keep our KHMER stories alive.
A promise that the next generation will see the shadows of our past not as something distant, but as something powerful and proud.
A promise that our KHMER culture carried across an ocean will never fade in the light.

Because I am Khmer.
Raised in the inner city
Rooted in the stories of my KHMER ancestors.
And through my art, I let the KHMER Hanuman carry those stories forward.
one shadow, one symbol, one design at a time.