Filmed underwater, this is the third video in Nguyen-Hatsushiba’s “Memorial Project” series which began in 2001. The title already implies the cultural complexities about to be ironically unravelled: Ho Chi Minh is parodied and Okinawa (where this was filmed) was a battle site in Japan during World War II which then became an American training base during the Vietnam War. To a remix of James Bond movie tracks composed by Quoc Bao, no less than thirty divers in wet suits and full gear advance against the water resistance armed with cartridges of color. They attack trestles with blank canvases on which they attempt to paint a yellow star but, after a showering of digital white stars likened to the American flag (presumably alluding to Christmassy snow), they find themselves uncontrollably portraying actors who played in Vietnam-related films like Marlon Brando, Michael Cimino, Robert De Niro… which then, end up leading to collapse and dissolving. Water creates a parallel world, symbolic of universal consciousness, which allows for the slow contemplation of these potentially alienating cultural transmissions. Nguyen-Hatsushiba’s dramatized soft critique is across the board, from the sheer weight of Vietnamese tradition on one hand, to America’s geo-political and cultural hegemony on the other, as well as the way war is represented in the media and in cinema (Vietnam was one of the first conflicts to have broad coverage).
Jun Nguyen-Hatsushiba initially trained as a painter in the United States and references to the act of painting are regularly present in his videos. Since 2001, he is world renowned for his series of underwater videos, called “Memorial Project”, which revisit the history and culture of Vietnam, and its relations with the United States. Although the actual filming has an actual dangerous side for the artist and the actors, as a direct connection with Vietnamese boat people, they have a certain dream-like quality due to the slow motion in the liquid environment. typical national tropes which are integrated count rickshaws, rice picking, water puppets and dragons, the yellow star on the flag but these are generally intermingled and confused by overriding American cultural references. Through running performances across cities around the world, titled Breathing is Free: 12,756.3 , Jun Nguyen-Hatsushiba pursues his humanistic artistic action denouncing global refugee crisis. His practice also includes drawing and large scale installations.
This Björk-narrated fungi documentary is enough to make you trip | Dazed â¬…ï¸ Left Arrow *ï¸âƒ£ Asterisk â Star Option Sliders âœ‰ï¸ Mail Exit Film & TV Feature Directed by Merlin Sheldrake, Fungi: Web of Life features jaw-dropping time-lapse footage in which fungi germinate like majestic, otherworldly creatures 12 February 2024 Text Nick Chen Fungi: Web of Life 8 The British biologist and writer Merlin Sheldrake is to mushrooms what Björk is to music...
"7Voices 2.0" by Yayasan Chow Kit and Dramalab at George Town Festival 2018 | ArtsEquator Thinking and Talking about Arts and Culture in Southeast Asia Articles September 20, 2018 By Akanksha Raja (830 words, four minute read) Before entering the performance space on the first floor lobby of The Whiteaways Arcade where 7Voices 2.0 takes place, my friend Denise and I are approached by two young “inspectors” demanding documentary proof that we were children...
Zhang Wenzhi & Zheng Haozhong at Blindspot Gallery – ARTOMITY 藝源 Zhang Wenzhi: Tiger in Mountains, Deer at Ocean / Zheng Haozhong: Melodic Variations / Curator: Leo Li Chen / Nov 28, 2023 – Jan 13, 2024 / Opening: Saturday, Nov 25, 4pm – 6.30pm / In Conversation (in Mandarin): Zhang Wenzhi and Leo Li Chen, 5pm – 6pm / Blindspot Gallery 15/F Po Chai Industrial Building 28 Wong Chuk Hang Road Wong Chuk Hang, Hong Kong +852 2517 6238 Tuesday – Saturday, 10.30am – 6.30pm blindspotgallery.com Blindspot Gallery is pleased to present the duo solo exhibition Zhang Wenzhi: Tiger in Mountains, Deer at Ocean and Zheng Haozhong: Melodic Variations , curated by Leo Li Chen, showcasing the recent paintings of two Mainland Chinese artists...
South Africa Righteous Space by Hank Willis Thomas is concerned with history and identity, with the way race and ‘blackness’ has not only been informed but deliberately shaped and constructed by various forces – first through colonialism and slavery, and more recently through mass media and advertising – and reminds us of the financial and economic stakes that have always been involved in representations of race....
Agatha Gothe-Snape’s POWERPOINTS is an ongoing series of digital artworks that have been created with Microsoft PowerPoint...
Hauser & Wirth and Nicola Vassell Unveil New Partnership Model – ARTnews.com Skip to main content By Sarah Douglas Plus Icon Sarah Douglas Editor-in-Chief, ARTnews View All November 28, 2023 4:00pm Amapiano Dance , 2022-2023, Uman, Acrylic, oil and oil stick on canvas in artist's frame, 62 5/8 x 62 5/8 in...
In the video Color Strip by Elsa Werth two-dimensional versions of all the national flags of the world (197 in all) are compiled into a long horizontal strip...
Chinese restaurants have been a familiar feature of Swedish cities since the late 1970s, embodying the foreign and the exotic...
Out-of-town Selected Gallery Guide: Dec 2023 – Two Coats of Paint Front Room Gallery: Beth Dary , Notions , 2022, Red Glass head pins on steell hoop with fabric and beeswax, 3.5 inches diameter What’s up outside the city? At Jack Shainman The School in Kinderhook, take some time at the sprawling installation by Meleko Mokgosi, co-director of Graduate Studies in Painting/Printmaking at Yale...
Talk at 7pm in Kadist-Office, Paris (Held in English) Please book your seat by sending an email to contact@kadist.org Maria Lind will introduce her project for the 11th Gwangju Biennale in South Korea (September 2-November 6, 2016), The Eighth Climate (What Does Art Do?) , of which she is the artistic director...
Weekly Southeast Asia Radar: Singaporean rapper BGourd; the studio of Pinoy comic book legends | ArtsEquator Thinking and Talking about Arts and Culture in Southeast Asia ArtsEquator Radar Buro Singapore January 31, 2020 ArtsEquator’s Southeast Asia Radar features articles and posts about arts and culture in Southeast Asia, drawn from local and regional websites and publications – aggregated content from outside sources, so we are exposed to a multitude of voices in the region...
How do Wussies Network? advertise donate post your art opening recent articles cities contact about article index podcast main February 2024 "The Best Art In The World" "The Best Art In The World" February 2024 How do Wussies Network? Ian Lewandowski, Natalia in Cowboy Hat, Indy Pride, Military Park, Indianapolis 2023, 2023, photography...