Installation Exhibition “Deo cay giua duong” by Yen Nang

Opening: Thu 27 Dec 2018, 5 pm
Exhibition: 27 Dec 2018 – 30 Jun 2019, 9 am – 12 pm and 1.30 pm – 5 pm
VICAS Art Studio

From the organizer:

Yen Nang is an artist who is always interested in works of art of a “fleeting” nature, considering the process of creating the work more important than the result (with many newly-finished works removed right after). Over the years, he has become famous for such a series of artworks of the same kind such as “Rubbish of Spring” 1,2,3…

This year, he was given a difficult task: making a work of art (not a decoration) in VICAS’s water tank, but not just any work, it has to have an interaction with what’s already available in the tank (hòn non bộ – miniature landscape, 2 sprinklers). […]

In fact, the initial idea using pebbles seems original in terms of installation, but speaking from the creative perspective, it was still an old idea: imitating nature.

And then the breakthrough in the idea took place in a cafe at Vicas art studio: Each friend, each colleague of Yen Nang offered or contributed a new idea. […]

Strangely enough, Yen Nang, an artist who often doesn’t listen to anyone’s suggestions when doing his work, this time welcomed different, even opposite opinions, and create a work that no longer has anything to do with the original idea and with a completely new creative thinking: not a reflection or imitation, but a construction of nature.

Yen Nang has added other mini rocks to create new meanings for the already-exist rock, in general, they are all connected, like a constellation in the galaxy. These mini rocks are made of iron wires, randomly put together, painted with eye-catching colors to create a sense of disorder with the wires. On those tangled tufts are small rocks, each was carved with a secret symbol of cultures we already know and of those we do not know and may never know.

The beauty of this artwork is that those symbols are hidden when the rocks are installed, meaning that no one can see them. Perhaps the author wants to spread the mystery of the universe to each audience when seeing the work? And each will feel and ask themselves questions about their relationship, of the culture they belong to not only the Earth but also with other planets, with cultures completely different, far away from them. Here, with regards to the participation of unconsciousness in the creative process, Yen Nang said: “I drew these symbols very quickly on 36 rocks, within an hour, when drawing, I didn’t think anything, completely natural, and just drew things that came up in my mind at that time…”

And finally, enjoy in the team work, Yen Nang named this work DEO CAY GIUA DUONG. That is how he expressed his loyalty to his artistic point of view: The most creative and most interesting is the process of creating the work, not the work itself.

Hanoi, 20/12/2018
Bui Quang Thang, PhD. – Art director
VICAS ART STUDIO

Translated by Hanoi Grapevine