Life meets art as Vietnamese Ikebana master mBug draws her inspiration from the common feelings and emotions on a daily basis. By carefully placing each vase, each piece of driftwood, each stranch of flower, the artist combines their collective, lasting energies to describe "passion," "harmony," and "connection."

"Binh Sinh" reminds us to live fully in every moment. It is also about vases with life energy. That energy is characterized by unique driftwood trunks with the language of modern, installation art. "'Binh Sinh' is the powerful energy required for this life," said the Ikebana master.

The enegry lives in the enameled copper vase is awakened by Driftwood and Flowers (Photo: Nhung Nguyen).

The name "Binh Sinh" has two meanings, said mBug, one being the definition of one's originality, the most truthful version of oneself. The other meaning is the wordplay of the word "Binh" meaning "Vase" - the main feature of the exhibition and "Sinh" meaning "To give birth".

The installation artwork shows wood branches and flowers are being released from the vases. They blossom, reach and show off their most vibrant, lively selves.

Launcher (Be Phong) (Photo: Nhung Nguyen).

Although invisible, energy can be explained with the language of installation art. The goal is to show that these materials are more than still creatures. They are alive with rich, valuable life lessons, some of which the viewers can relate to.

In mBug's creative narrative, the energy is placed at the center (Photo: Nhung Nguyen).

mBug' style is modern Ikebana, Sogetsu school from Japan, and combining with Vietnamese cultural elements like using "imperfect" material like driftwood. This stylish choice surprised many Vietnamese visitors. In each installation, the elements are vibrant in colors and patterns yet they blend in together with the harmonious flow. The enameled copper vase shows man-made sophistication while driftwood and flowers represent the beauty of Mother nature.

(Photo: Nhung Nguyen)

For mBug, driftwood is special because they are the core of rare and large old trees. After "finishing its green journey", driftwood takes a long time for tens or hundreds of years to decompose.

Harmony (Hoa hop) (Photo: Nhung Nguyen).

The piece features the unique and lasting beauty of driftwood, showcasing emotional connections between people and nature, and carries many meaningful messages about the influence of love for nature, and love of life on our lives.

“I hope that people understand more about the philosophy of life through driftwood and modern Ikebnana art and that people will lean towards leading a calm, simple way of living, without rushing and chaos. It will keep one's soul and mind calm and in harmony with life's imperfection,” said the artist.

From 2019 to the present, mBug was awarded at many prestige Ikebana competitions, both domestic and international (Photo: Facebook of Thanh Hien Nguyen) mBug (real name Nguyen Thanh Hien, born in Hue, Vietnam), founder of LUA DECOR (Hanoi-based handmade driftwood manufacturing and product company), is an award-winning Ikebana master. She is teaching at the Sogetsu School of Ikebana (Tokyo, Japan) since 2022 and is a member of the Sogetsu Teachers' Association (STA) of international Ikebana masters. She led a completely different career path before becoming an Ikebana artist. Since 2005, she spent 15 years as an Electronic Engineer at the Vietnam Electricity Group. Her passion for Ikebana has encouraged her to study this art in Japan, become an Ikebana artist and also opened her brand for handicraft products made of driftwood. Her company, LUA DECOR is the fruitful result of Hien's hard work to follow her dream. LUA DECOR hopes to bring the beauty of Japanese-style driftwood and flower arrangement closer to Vietnamese audiences. Also in 2019, mBug won the People's Choice Awards at the International Ikebana Competition. In 2020, she won many awards at the International Ikebana Competition. From March 24 to May 1, 2023, Binh Sinh installation artwork by mBug is displayed at Anh Duong Art Space.

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