Dragon, Phoenix, Tortoisse, Chair, Cloud, Elevation & factory shots, Marble, stone, wood, live sizes 110x130x90 average, 2015
Vietnam REM, Drawings on printed tracing paper and film stills, 42x 29.8 cm, 2016
The Dream (2014-2016)
The Dream is set out to portray the spirit, the essence and the strength of the Vietnamese character. The artist’s intention is to get close to who the Vietnamese are as human beings, their dreams, identity and aspirations. The sculpture becomes a way to explore their intimate relationship with their motorbikes, an attempt to capture and expand on their persona. The title of the show refers also to the iconic motorbike model ‘Honda Dream’ and to how much of the Vietnamese’s everyday lives spins around these old machines, how they literally sleep, eat and live on them.
The show consists in a total of nine marble pieces, a short video projection, three large paintings in silk and a selection of sketches, collages and storyboards of the pieces and the film.
The sculptures are variations and extrapolations of different parts of motorbikes. The sculptures work as a dismembered part of a larger body. The body of the ‘Honda Dream’, the parts are somehow different stages of dreaming. The marble pieces aim to emphasise not only the obvious physical dimension with the motorbike parts but also the more unconscious, emotional and spiritual content hinted in the material of the white marble, burnt wood or stone. The titles of the pieces and the stands are abstractions of mythological motives constantly active in the Vietnamese heritage, traditional Art and craftsmanship.
The film intercuts footage of the making of the marble pieces (moonlike scape of the workshop covered in white dust) with footage the artist gathered on his motorbike journeys throughout the country. Also there are some references to the mythological animals and elements staged in popular celebrations such as the lion or the dragon dance.
The large paintings on silk portray the body of the motorcyclist without the actual motorbike. The bodies painted on translucent silk are like ghosts or dreamy images floating and being driven in the space by a non existent vehicle.
The show consists in a total of nine marble pieces, a short video projection, three large paintings in silk and a selection of sketches, collages and storyboards of the pieces and the film.
The sculptures are variations and extrapolations of different parts of motorbikes. The sculptures work as a dismembered part of a larger body. The body of the ‘Honda Dream’, the parts are somehow different stages of dreaming. The marble pieces aim to emphasise not only the obvious physical dimension with the motorbike parts but also the more unconscious, emotional and spiritual content hinted in the material of the white marble, burnt wood or stone. The titles of the pieces and the stands are abstractions of mythological motives constantly active in the Vietnamese heritage, traditional Art and craftsmanship.
The film intercuts footage of the making of the marble pieces (moonlike scape of the workshop covered in white dust) with footage the artist gathered on his motorbike journeys throughout the country. Also there are some references to the mythological animals and elements staged in popular celebrations such as the lion or the dragon dance.
The large paintings on silk portray the body of the motorcyclist without the actual motorbike. The bodies painted on translucent silk are like ghosts or dreamy images floating and being driven in the space by a non existent vehicle.
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