LINH PHUONG NGUYEN
Born at Nha San studio the first non-profit studio for experimental art in Vietnam, and perhaps the most prominent art space in Hanoi based in her father s home, Linh Phuong Nguyen has been absorbed in an artistic environment by living among and working with many of the respected contemporary artists of the Vietnamese art scene. She has demonstrated a deep understanding and involvement in the art community both as an artist and an art organizer. Linh Phuong Nguyen s works are sensual, poetic, fragmented, humble and exalted. Her work contemplates upon the visible/invisible truth, form and time and conveys pervasive sense of dislocation. They concern stories that had been forgotten or things that are so insignificant that they never reach our subconscious. LINH PHUONG NGUYEN Lives and works in Hanoi, Vietnam. Linh Phuong Nguyen has participated in various exhibitions and art projects in Vietnam, countries in Asia, Europe, Middle East as well as US. In 2009, she had her solo exhibition Salt at Galerie Quỳnh. In 2011, Linh participated in 11 th Winds of Artist in Residence at Fukuoka Asian Art Museum with a solo exhibition Dust. In 2012 she presented project Home in the exhibition Hinterlands at the Luggage Store Gallery in San Francisco, USA. In 2013, she participated in the large exhibition HIWAR, 25 th anniversary of Darat Al Funnun in Amman, Jordan... Since 2010, Linh organized and curated programs at Nha San. She found and organized IN:ACT, the annual international performance art festival in Hanoi. In 2012, she organized Skylines With Flying People, one of the most ambitious contemporary art events in Vietnam in the last decade with local and international artists and curators from Vietnam, Japan, Germany, US, Serbia, Shanghai, Korea at Japan Foundation, Nha San Studio, Goethe Institute, Manzi Art Space and many public sites in Hanoi. In 2013, Linh co-found Nha San COLLECTIVE, a group of young experimental artists and found new art spaces for Nha San Studio in a ruined pharmacy factory and in the center of the city. Since 2010, Linh Nguyen has assisted artist Danh Vo in several large scale exhibitions and projects, including his solo exhibition at Kunsthaus Bregenz in 2012 and the large project for the Venice Biennale in 2013
Artist statement: I care about the beauty of the trace of transformation, the track of wanderlust and the ephemeral, fiction and reality, what was lost and what remains. I often use historical found object/ space to transform and investigate the complex relationship between personal memories, national geopolitical history and the contemporary life; and to construct an alternative perspective in viewing the history and the present in many layers.
SANCTIFIED CLOUDS 2013 Sanctified clouds is a sense of ridicule and conflict that I experienced when collecting images of the bombings and smoke during the many wars: from the Great Wars to the Vietnam War, smoke and fire found in terrorist acts as well as in continuous armed conflicts throughout the Middle East, in Ukraine and most recently in the IS-fighting battle in Iraq... Modern Vietnamese history witnessed almost 6 decades of continual fighting (1930 1980), which has left both the peoples and their minds deeply wounded. Smoke and flame bursting on Thich Quang Duc s body (self-inflamated Buddist monk) Bombings on the historic Long Bien bridge in Hanoi during the 60s and 70s Gunfire blasting in the Old town of Quang Tri in 1972 The bombing smoke and haze resemble the clouds. It brings out a sense of glorious power, despite being the symbol of destructive weapondry. From afar, the smoke has an irresistible charm just like the beautiful fireworks, but it is also dangerous as it is the representation of power: a deadly power. More than 500 images of bomb explosions were collected from google source. I cropped off the violence scene. Only the smoke and cloud remain. Sanctified Clouds is now in the process of printing on Vietnamese porcelain.
HOME 2012 includes a series of different works: 1/ BOAT 2/ CANDIES FOR THU HA 3/ DUST
10
BOAT My father has the job of fixing Vietnamese traditional wooden houses, such as temple, pagoda, church... He shipped me iron wood from the floor of a Catholic church and windows from a Mental hospital in the North Vietnam to Oakland. The wood was transported same way that American Government sent the first container of weapon, medicine, food... to Vietnam in 1967. I bent a boat.
CANDIES FOR THU HA These lemon candies are very simply made by mixing sugar and lemon juice. They are very common in Vietnam. The candies are dedicated to my friend Thu Ha
DUST PROJECT 2011-2012 includes a series of different works: 1/ Dust 2/ Dustscape 3/ Rubber - Soap - Tobacco
Dust collection in glass vials DUST I collected dust from various places and objects such as: Long Bien bridge, the first steel bridge in Ha Noi that was built by the French in 1887, a bomb shelter in an old house in Japan, the border between North and South Korea, Oakland port (USA) that shipped the first container of weapon to Vietnam, etc... This dust journey is a way to learn history, geographic and to contemplate what has lost, what remained. I want to visualize and archive memories and values. All objects and spaces where the dust was from were documented and printed by blue print in Japan. Before photocopy machine was invented, Blueprint used to be a common method of printing, using ammoniac. But it is banned in America and countries in Europe for strong and toxic chemical. I bought the chemical kit online and learn to do blue printing.
Grandfather Tateishi sat on this chair at this position to see his house burning down by his own eyes as he could not save it from the bomb raid of American in 1941. Bridges I have crossed at the border of the North and South Korea Doksan, the last train station at the border of North and South Korea
Dustscape made of 2 tons of stone dust from the mountain after an explosion to get stone for construction
Rubber - Soap - Tobacco (50 x 50 cm) Yellow Star Rubber factory and Hanoi Soap factory were established in Hanoi in 1960. Thang Long Tobaco was established in 1957. tobaco The appearance of these 3 light industrial factories marked a big step of economy development in Vietnam during the war. During the economic subside, the 3 products of the factories were very common to every Vietnamese family. soap The 3 factories are in the same street Nguyen Trai, Hanoi. Crossing by these factories, people can smell a very strong and typical of them at the same time. rubber
SALT 2009
Vietnam has the ocean laying along the country that makes the salt job very popular. Vietnamese salt is not clean, beautiful and fine but coarse, big, dirty and wet crystals. No industrial machine involved, producing salt is all handmade and mostly depended on the weather. Most of the salt workers are women and children while men go sailing or work in factories... Salt exhibition was made after a research trip at 5 salt villages in Vietnam. SALT includes a series of different work: 1/ BOAT 2/ MOUNTAINS 3/ MELTING 4/ FLOWERS
BOAT 1x3x1m, unrefined salt, solidly constructed from 2 tons of salt
MOUNTAINS 1 ton of unrefined salt
MELTING unrefined salt, clay, soil, glass tray, water, plastic globe, fishing wire
FLOWERS 700 articles of used clothes from the salt workers
CURATION AT NHA SAN STUDIO -> SKYLINES WITH FLYING PEOPLE -> NHA SAN COLLECTIVE
in a socio-political environment where experimental art can be a risky endeavor, Taking the shape of a private home, in the last fifteen years, Nhà Sàn Studio has proved to be a nearperfect place to host underground alternative art exhibitions and events, In 2010 I organized programs at Nha San. Nha San was forced to close down unofficially due to a performance that contained nudity. Since then I have I have curated many mobile and guerrilla projects in order to learn and experiment ways to realize a ideal art space possible in the local scene, not a physical one, but a form for freedom expression and creation. (http://nhasanstudio.org http://nhasan.org)
LINH NGA ICE TEA In August 2010, I opened a small ice tea shop at Lenin park, where the youth practices hip hop, skateboard, while the elder practices classical dance and tai chi. This shop quickly became a new meeting point of artists and we became friends with many youths who later joined our volunteer team at Nha San. The shop was run for 3 months.
SKYLINES WITH FLYING PEOPLE - temporary art space 2012 Since its unofficial closing in 2010, Nhà Sàn Studio has temporarily put all of its artistic activities on hold due to strict censorships. However, regardless of such restrictive political environment, the Nhà Sàn artists have never stopped adapting to ongoing changes and finding other ways to continue working; whilst carrying on supporting each other and developing public art audiences. Skylines With Flying People a mobile interdisciplinary art space and working studio - was born as the answer to the problem. Over the span of five weeks in December 2012, and with the participation of artists and curators from Vietnam, Japan, Korea, Germany, America, China and Serbia, the project took place at the Japan Foundation and was the first of its kind in Hanoi. The project consisted of three multimedia exhibitions; a pop-up gallery; an interactive kitchen; studios for new media, performance art and sewing; daily studio visits opened to the public; and a series of creative and educational discussions and workshops on temporary working space and alternative ways of art-making and exhibiting. www.swfp.org
Sewing Factory Family Kitchen MAC Hanoi Media Lab Japan Foundation was renovated to SWFP art space includes 7 studios Sewing Factory, Family Kitchen, MAC HANOI, Media Lab, Gymnastic field, ESCAPE mobile gallery, Mini Theater, 2 exhibition halls in the show room and the library, and an information center. SWFP occupied Japan Foundation for more than 2 months. Exhibition hall Stage Mini Theater Gymnastic Filed ENTRANCE Escape - Mobile Gallery Library/exhibition venue Information Center
ARTISTS CREATE IN OPEN STUDIOS
SYMPOSIUM, WORKSHOP, TALK EXHIBITION
NHA SAN COLLECTIVE In June 2013, together with my colleague friend Tuan Mami we found Nha San Collective, including 10 young artists working at different mediums: video, installation, sound, performance We formed a new space for the local experimental and contemporary art scene at an abandoned pharmaceutical factory in Hai Ba Trung district for 6 months. Nha San Collective hosts monthly open studio days and artist talks; educational workshops and discussions; showcases artworks and other creative designed products; archiving... An residency program for both local and international artists is also in the process of being formed After the space was closed down by the city government Nha San Collective found another new space in the center of Ha Noi. I realized the physical space can be changed but the power of the artists who work beyond pressure are the one thing we need to treasure and develop.
White room: exhibition venue - working studio Black room: exhibition venue - working studio Art shop with creative designs
Thank you!