Through her art, Marine Ky attempts to deal with her recollections and experiences of displacement, as well as question the nature of her identify growing up in and between two different cultures.  Interwoven threads, textured cloths and delicate silks are used to represent her fragmented childhood memories, whilst images of garments are used to create a bridge between the present and the past.  Touching and imprinting fabrics connects Marine to different places and memories, “the repetitive and monotonous process of assembling and stitching together fragments awakens my childhood memories of helping my grandmother and aunties sew”. In recent works, Marine has drawn on her meditation experiences in Northern India, Nepal and Cambodia, sharing something of the journey that has helped her in generating more positive feelings towards all, despite the current climate of fear and uncertainty in the world.  Ancient relics, textile remnants and floral motifs appear in multi-layered panels at once abstract and representational.  These objects sit in an elusive state somewhere between presence and absence, reflecting the uncertain boundaries of our own memories and experiences. 

Marine was born in Cambodia and moved to France as a refugee where she completed an Honours degree in Fine Arts.  Since moving to Australia in 1992, Marine has undertaken courses in bookbinding and typesetting and has completed her Master of Arts in printmaking at the Tasmanian School of Art, Hobart.  A participant in numerous group exhibitions, Marine was selected in 1997 for the Fourth International Biennial of Engraving, which toured to Spain, Brazil and Venezuela.  Her work is represented in various collections around the world including the National Gallery of Australia, Fukuoka Asian Art Museum (Japan), Musée des Beaux-Arts du Locle (Switzerland), Cité Internationale des Arts de Paris (France), as well as the European Commission and Australian embassies in Phnom Penh (Cambodia).