Coinciding with the podcast detailing the wholesale looting of Cambodia, famed traditional dancer Sophiline Cheam Shapiro staged an unsanctioned performance in The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York to spotlight the nation’s struggle to reclaim its stolen heritage
LOS ANGELES, February 28, 2023 – Innovative content studio Project Brazen, in partnership with award-winning public media organization PRX, today announced the launch of a new investigative narrative podcast, DYNAMITE DOUG. The six-part series, hosted by renowned actress and activist Ellen Wong, tells the hidden story that is currently rocking the art world of how one man carried out the greatest art heist in history – the looting of Cambodia’s cultural heritage – with the aid of Western academics, dealers and curators. This stranger-than-fiction tale debuts this morning free across all major podcast platforms, with new episodes launching each Wednesday (subscribers to Brazen+, Project Brazen’s Apple Podcasts channel, will be able to access all six episodes immediately).
Coinciding with this morning’s release, acclaimed Cambodian artist Sophiline Cheam Shapiro performed a solo dance at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in front of looted statues. Her performance focused on an 8th century “harihara” statue, a masterwork that was stolen from Cambodia in the 1970s and is key to Cambodia’s battle to get hundreds of statues back from Western museums and private collections.
“For us, the statues are spiritual, and belong back in Cambodia,” said Sophiline, a former winner of the Nikkei Asia Prize and recipient of the National Heritage Fellowship, the U.S. government’s highest honor in the folk and traditional arts. “The ‘harihara’ in the Met is one of the most urgent priorities for Cambodia as it seeks the return of its stolen property.”
Sophiline will explain the cultural importance of Cambodian statues as part of a symposium at the Greene Space in New York at 5pm on March 1. Photos and video of the performance in the Met are available here. Project Brazen has commissioned a replica of the “harihara” by New York sculptor Zaq Landsberg, and will present the statue to Sophiline at the symposium.
DYNAMITE DOUG reveals how for 50 years Douglas Latchford was the world’s premier expert on Cambodian art, supplying priceless statues to Western museums and rich collectors. But his fame masked a dirty secret; Latchford had colluded with the Khmer Rouge, a genocidal regime, to loot Cambodia’s cultural heritage, including the “harihara” statue. As the country descended into bloodshed, Latchford stole almost everything. A network of art world cronies were on hand to help him sell these blood statues, including a senior curator at the Met. When a band of art sleuths got on their case, Latchford and his collaborators mounted a rearguard action to save themselves. Unlike other controversies over stolen art such as the Elgin Marbles or Benin Bronzes this story isn’t ancient history, but is going on right now under our noses. Latchford and his enablers continued to steal from Cambodia up until his criminal indictment in 2019 and death the following year. This is a story the art world doesn’t want told.
“This essential story takes us on a shocking and unexpected journey from Cambodia all the way to The Metropolitan Museum of Art, which despite pressure still holds onto numerous pieces of Cambodian art connected to this heist, including the iconic ‘harihara’ statue,” said Tom Wright, co-founder of Project Brazen. “We’re thrilled that Ellen Wong, whose cultural activism makes her the perfect guide through this tale, is able to share it with us.”
“This is an incredibly important and personal story for me to help put out into the public eye,” said podcast host Ellen Wong. “I can’t wait for everyone to experience it and see this horrendous theft that is still going on today.”
Ellen Wong is an internationally acclaimed and award-winning actress. The daughter of Chinese-Cambodian refugees, she grew up in Toronto, breaking into the industry after a global casting search landed her the role of “Knives Chau” in Universal Studios’ Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. Since then, Ellen’s gone on to further success, including multiple SAG Award nominations for her work as “Jenny Chey” on the Emmy-winning and Golden Globe nominated Netflix series GLOW, and headlining Cambodia’s entry for Best International Film at the 92nd Academy Awards, In The Life of Music, for which she won the Rising Star Award from the Philadelphia Asian Film Festival. Ellen has been a vocal supporter for issues of equality and diversity, and served as an ambassador for Share Her Journey, a campaign dedicated to fighting for gender equality in film and TV. Ellen also sits on the board of directors for the Cambodia Town Film Festival and The Haing S. Ngor Foundation.
DYNAMITE DOUG from Project Brazen is produced and brought to listeners in partnership with PRX. The podcast is also made in partnership with Audiation.
The show’s theme is by Paul Vitolins with music and mixing by BANG Music and Audio Post.
DYNAMITE DOUG is free on-demand to listeners everywhere across all major podcast platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Overcast, Pocket Casts, and Amazon Music. Subscribers to Brazen+ will get early access to all episodes, as well as bonus content and extended interviews.
About Project Brazen
Project Brazen is a global journalism studio telling blockbuster stories in every form of media. Founded in 2021 by the best-selling authors behind BILLION DOLLAR WHALE, Bradley Hope and Tom Wright, Project Brazen is a thriving home to the world’s best journalists and creators. Based in London and Singapore, Project Brazen has an active slate of podcasts, documentaries, books, newsletters, as well as scripted film and television. Recent hit projects include the podcasts FAT LEONARD (in-development for scripted TV with SK Global), CORINNA AND THE KING and THE SOUND: Mystery of Havana Syndrome. Project Brazen is represented by a team at United Talent Agency in Los Angeles and Levy Law in New York City.
About PRX
PRX is a non-profit public media company specializing in audio journalism and storytelling. PRX serves independent producers and organizations by helping them connect to their most engaged, supportive audiences. One of the world’s leading podcast publishers, PRX works in partnership with TED, PBS, the Smithsonian, Futuro Media, GBH, Religion of Sports, and more. PRX is also home to Radiotopia, known as one of the most creative and successful podcast networks. In addition, PRX distributes trusted public radio programming to hundreds of stations nationwide, including “The World,” “The Moth Radio Hour,” “This American Life,” “Snap Judgment,” “Reveal,” “The Takeaway,” and “Latino USA.” PRX programs have been recognized by the Peabody Awards, the duPont-Columbia Awards, the IDA Documentary Awards, and the Pulitzer Prizes. In 2022, Futuro Media and PRX won a Pulitzer Prize.
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