I met Mary [Hamill] in New York at my exhibition and when I told her about my oral history project she asked, "Would it be possible to incorporate visual art?" My sister stitches pillowcases, which led to Mary suggesting using cyanotype on them. I originally thought of the idea of pillowcases because when people get married, they have the bride and the groom lay their hands on each other's pillows while their relatives tie ribbons on their wrists. And then on the bed you usually have two pillows - one for yourself and one for your loved one - so when one is gone, one pillow remains.

For me, the more I understand the story of others, the greater I am able to learn and help other people.

In Cambodian culture the male figure in the family is important; when you lose your husband you lose your economic ability to survive.

You have to experiment with different mediums and things around you [making art].

In This Body Mystery, even though it was written in the voice of people with HIV/AIDS, it's about how people come to accept their fate and their sickness. It's about accepting the way your life is.

I liked museums but I wanted to be a dancer, I wanted to go into performing arts, or be a writer.

If I were really fluent and born into the English language, I would probably become a greater writer.