Hồi Sóng
Tues – Sat, 07 – 18 Dec 2021, 11 am – 06 pm
Sàn Art
Units, B6.16-B6.17, Block B (Office), Millennium Masteri
132 Ben Van Don (Nguyen Huu Hao entrance), Ward 6, District 4, HCMC
Registration link
From Viện Goethe:
Art project “Hồi Sóng”, consisting of archival study and sound installation by two Vietnam-based artists Nhung Nguyễn and Zach Sch, is available in both digital form at hoisong.art and physical form at Sàn Art – an art space based in Saigon, Vietnam – from 7th December to 18th December, 2021.
From the original intent of exploring the intangible cultural heritage, specifically the oral history documented in the historical archives, the artist duo adopts sound installation as their medium to explore the relationships between archived information and sound arts. Originally and spanning from the topics centered around the lives of soldiers and workers imported from French colonies in Africa and Vietnam, the project extends to historical brushstrokes of the peoples from Egypt, Algeria, Mali, Martinique and Indochina (composed of Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia) and their wartime assignments, living conditions, their feelings and memories reminisced 60 years after the end of World War II.
Accordingly, the installation work aims to juxtapose the archival materials from the said topics with music and sound designs. The artist duo assesses archives’ respective socio-cultural contexts and their attached literary and musical materials to architect the recordings. While Nhung focuses on the oral recordings, Zach places greater emphasis on sound experiments.
While a few mp3 and headphone sets will be available at the gallery, we encourage our guests to bring their own listening devices to enjoy the compositions prepared by the artists in addition to the installation.
We will also limit the number of attendees to 5 guests per visit. Please use the registration link at the top of the event page to select your preferred time of visit or send us an email at [email protected] to book an appointment. To ensure everyone’s safety we will require guests to present their Green pass, submit a health declaration and keep their masks upon entrance. Thank you immensely for your understanding, and see you soon at the gallery!
This project is supported by:
– Sàn Art
– Humboldt University of Berlin
– Goethe-Institut Ho Chi Minh City
– Japan Foundation Center for Cultural Exchange in Vietnam
– Nguyen Thien Dao Foundation
Artists’ bios:
Nhung Nguyen is an emerging Vietnamese sound artist currently based in Hanoi, experimenting across a range of left-field aesthetics and expressions – ambient drone, electro acoustic, noise music, musique concrete, amongst others.
Since 2014 Nhung has been making works under the moniker Sound Awakener – and under her real name, for the more cinematic, piano-driven projects. She has worked with international labels such as Time Released Sound (US), Unknown Tones Records (US), Soft (France), Flaming Pines (UK), Fluid Audio (UK), Syrphe (Germany).
In addition to her solo work, Nhung has collaborated with artists from various other disciplines, often adding audio elements to visual experiences. Nhung’s music and sounds have appeared in exhibitions such as Liberation Radio (2021), Citizen Earth (2020, Hanoi), Le Giang’s D’eau et de verdure (2020, Hanoi), Phan Thao Nguyen’s Poetic Amnesia (HCMC and Hanoi, 2017), the public-art initiatives Into Thin Air (2016) and Into Thin Air 2 (2018) – both in Hanoi, Richard Streitmatter-Tran’s Departures (Hong Kong, 2017), amongst others. As a composer for moving image, Nhung has also worked on music compositions for short films and video art.
ZACH SCH:
Zach Sch’s present practice seeks out points of dialogue between compositional and the visceral, textural capacity of sound. This includes the physicality of sound as an environmental medium and explorations of new dynamics in compositional structure and sound design. Beside his solo work, he is a member of Rắn Cạp Đuôi Collective and Mona Evie which are sound based multi-media projects in which he co-shares conceptual productions, and engineering duties.
Recent collaborations and residencies have pushed his research towards developing techniques and technologies that reframe approaches to aural art and ethnomusicology. An ongoing project looks into reclaiming the Đông Sơn drum, a traditional instrument of the northern Bronze Age Lạc Việt peoples through digital technologies. With his writing partner Nhung Nguyen, they are also creating works spanning across fields of contemporary classical music and installation/ multimedia art.
New projects include Hồi Sóng / (r)tu(r)n with Nhung Nguyen and Sàn Art, and a new album soon to be released on Subtext Recordings in June. His work has been featured in galleries and programs in the UK, Japan, France, South Korea, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Germany, Colombia, Australia, the Netherlands, China, Switzerland, and the US.
About Sàn Art:
Founded in 2007 in Ho Chi Minh City as an artist-led platform, Sàn Art has since grown into a leading independent arts organization in Vietnam and the region. Maintaining a commitment to grassroots support for local and international artists and cultural work, Sàn Art is also a site for critical discourse with regular educational initiatives.
Aside from our exhibition program (more than 110 since 2007), Sàn Art’s past projects include the artist-residency Sàn Art Laboratory (2012-2015) and Conscious Realities (2013-2016), a series of events and publications, inviting writers, artists, thinkers and cultural workers with a focus on the Global South. In 2018, Sàn Art launched Uncommon Pursuits, a curatorial training school, and a new gallery with a focus on dialogues between modern and contemporary art in Vietnam and the region. That same year it also launched A. Farm (2018-2020), an international artist residency programme co-founded with MoT+++ and the Nguyen Art Foundation.
Opening a new chapter in the organization’s history, Sàn Art is expanding as a community hub to support and foster innovative and experimental practices and perspectives.
Follow updates on event’s page.
| Goethe-Institut HCMC 18, Str. 1, Cu Xa Do Thanh, District 3, HCMC Tel. + 84 8 38326716 + 84 8 36009588 Fax. + 84 8 38326765 [email protected] website |
