Yim Maline

Yim Maline is a Cambodian contemporary artist whose work explores memory, nature, fragility, and the social and environmental transformations of post-war Cambodia.
Born in 1982 in Battambang, Cambodia, she studied at Phare Ponleu Selpak before continuing her education at the École Supérieure des Beaux-Arts de Caen in France, where she graduated in 2010. She currently lives and works in Siem Reap.
Her multidisciplinary practice includes drawing, sculpture, and installation. Yim Maline is particularly known for her use of organic and recycled materials such as cardboard, paper, fabric, and found objects. Through these materials, she creates works that evoke landscapes, erosion, decomposition, and regeneration — reflecting both environmental vulnerability and collective memory.
A recurring theme in her work is the relationship between humans and nature, especially within the context of Cambodia’s rapid social and economic transformation. Her artworks often carry a quiet tension between beauty and destruction, delicacy and resilience.
Yim Maline has exhibited internationally in countries including Cambodia, Singapore, Japan, Australia, South Africa, and the United States. She has also participated in several international artist residencies.
Together with Cambodian artist Svay Sareth, she co-founded the Blue Art Center in Siem Reap, an independent space supporting contemporary art and emerging artists in Cambodia.
Her artistic language is often described as poetic, material-driven, and deeply connected to themes of transformation, landscape, and remembrance.