ABOUT // WHO IS RYYSA?
I am Cheerted Keo, creating under the name RYYSA, Khmer for “roots.” What began as a personal art project has grown into a lifelong journey: reconnecting with my heritage, exploring identity, and bridging cultures through art.
Born in a UNHCR refugee camp and raised in the Netherlands, I have always lived between worlds. Drawing became my home, a place to express what words could not, opening doors and giving me a voice when I needed it most.
Now, living in Cambodia, my work reflects that journey. I explore the duality of identity, blending tradition and modernity: the grace of Apsara dancers with the energy of city streets, the serenity of monks with the chaos of markets. My work tells stories often overlooked, inviting the world to see Cambodia not just as a place of history, but as a living, evolving culture.
These ideas extend beyond my visual work into broader conversations around identity, cultural memory, and reconnection within the diaspora, including through platforms such as Khmer Voices.
Over the next decade, I aim to create a visual language that honors Cambodia’s past while shaping its future. Through murals, public projects, and collaborations, I want to spark dialogue, celebrate overlooked narratives, and inspire a new way of seeing Cambodia, and the world.
More than expression, art is connection, memory, and vision. With RYYSA, I am building a bridge between roots and horizons, past and future, heritage and imagination.
BIO
- Born in 1986, in Khao I Dang. This was a refugee camp, set up by UNHCR on the border of Cambodia and Thailand.
- Moved to the Netherlands in 1988.
- Moved to Cambodia in 2020.
EDUCATION
- Academy for the arts and design Saint Joost, Breda, the Netherlands.
- Major in illustration and minor in fine arts.
- Fashion & Confection, ROC Tilburg,
the Netherlands.
CONTACT
+855 (0)96 255 6390
