Editor's Pick: Vietnamese Artists Take Us "Home"

"Home" - a group art exhibition opened in Hanoi at Manzi Exhibition Space on May 24, featuring a total of 9 Vietnamese visual creators. Some of the artworks tell the stories of artists who spent most of their lives away from their Motherland, seeking for a true sense of belonging when they return. Others exhibit what reflects their inner peace, which is separate from the physical world, labels or what is typically considered "home", "affection", or "family".

Interactive sculpture "Home:body" by Anh. Bamboo frame design: Soline Lerebours & Mattéo Micaut (Kecho Collective) (Photo: Nhung Nguyen).

Within the exhibition space, the audience can interact with the sculpture "Home:body" by visual narrator Anh. Regarding her inspiration, the creator shared that by melting into the desolate void, her own body is portrayed as a structure from materials reminiscent of roots in nature & Vietnam. Also, the embodied coexistence of strength and softness that "Home:body" represents is an invitation for the audience to take a breath while sitting inside.

From left to right: Soft sculpture "A distant night’s rest" by Anh, paintings "Catch" by EQ (Photo: Nhung Nguyen).

"Catch" (Anh Nga Em Nang) by EQ (Quyet Duong), including two artworks that refer to the idiom "Chi nga em nang" (When you fall, siblings catch) and "Mot con ngua dau ca tau bo co" (When one is hurt, we all hurt). By transforming his vision of Vietnamese idioms onto the wood canvas, EQ's art demonstates how the concept of family goes beyond blood relatives and also includes loyal friends and kind strangers.

Audiences watch the poetry film "Landscape of Our Body" by Cat Nguyen, Tram Anh and Thinh (Photo: Nhung Nguyen).

"Home" also presents an interesting visual form for poetry film with "Landscape of Our Body" by Cat Nguyen, Tram Anh and Thinh. In this 18-minutes long film, the main character, played by Cat Nguyen, travels in both private and public spaces in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, immersed in their own journey of confronting the social norms. Cat Nguyen can be spotted with "dan tranh," playing on roof-top with the sunset in the background in one scene, celebrating the abundance of life. Then in the next scene, there are wide shots of forest wind, close-up of river flows or burning incense sticks, alongside poems written and read by Cat Nguyen.

"These bodies of ours are the vessels we sail to embark on a lifetime voyage of return to our original selves. It is our bodies that navigate the treacherous tides of normative systems that impose themselves on our very being. And it is our bodies that act as community lighthouses for collective liberation. Ultimately, the landscape of our bodies is our blueprint to remembering, to healing, to blooming," said the curator about the message of "Landscape of Our Body."

According to artist Anh (Nguyen Phuong Anh), also the curator of "Home," the art installation, film, paintings of all shape and size that were made of various materials, visualize how each individual can cultivate their own definition of "home." Among the artists, there are also art students like Cung Tuan Minh along with experienced artists like EQ (Quyet Duong) and Tran Thi Hoi. Thereby, the exhibition askes the audiences to experience "home" from many different perspectives. They can also join the artists to enhance their ability to imagine, and to empathize. Beyond the exhibition experience that they share, one can gain a greater sense of appreciation for the home they currently live in both physically and spiritually.

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