Display “cong cong vênh vênh” | Skewed and Crooked
Opening: 06 pm – 08 pm, Fri 20 Oct 2023
Display: 04 pm – 08 pm, Wed – Sun 21 Oct – 12 Nov 2023
Á Space
Alley 59 Ngô Gia Tự, Long Biên, Hà Nội
From the organizer:
Á Space is pleased to invite you to ‘cong cong vênh vênh’ (loosely translated as ‘skewed and crooked’), Nguyễn Thị Diệp’s first solo presentation curated by Lê Thuận Uyên, closing off her 3-month residency at Á Space as part of its annual Solo Marathon program.
‘cong cong vênh vênh’ is the first and most extensive presentation of Nguyễn Thị Diệp’s artistic practice to date. Her works look at objects, mundane and mass-produced details that are omnipresent in everyday life; or bodily gestures that are embedded with psychological tensions. They are then extracted, recontextualised and reconstructed in performative acts that are either grotesque, laid bare or potentially violent.
Working with a variety of materials, from paper, silk, found objects (such as plastic mirrors) to organic materials that interact with the surrounding environment (such as shrimp puffs) and the body (as in video artworks where the body is hidden from view). The artworks negotiate frictional relations between heaviness and lightness, frothiness and solidity, softness and rigidity… They are arranged in spatial movements, shifting from a burst of colors to monochromatic zones, from light to dark, from free-spirited and unruly to refined and calm.
Acknowledgements:
We would like to send our most sincere thanks to:
Á Space team: Vân Đơ, m, Kèn, Linh Meo and all volunteers who have assisted the artist during her residency
Video production and post-production team: Hà Hoàng, Hiếu Nguyễn, Đỗ Văn Hoàng
Technical support: Kèn, anh Biên, anh Ga, Mai Thanh Nam, Việt Hoàng, Quang Quang
The exhibition cannot be realized without the encouragement and constructive feedback from all friends and colleagues who have contributed to the materialization of the artworks and exhibition
Biographies
Nguyễn Thị Diệp graduated from Vietnam University of Fine Art. Her art practice officially started with her participation in Young Fine Arts Festival 2011. In 2021, Diệp began experimenting more with other artistic languages such as video art and performance art. Her art often concerns simplicity in everyday life and takes root in her honest and humble experiences. Her most recent art projects and exhibitions she participated include: ‘Heart on the margins’ (Manzi Art Space, 2023); various performance art workshops (Hay Là & APD, 2022-23); ‘Một câu đựng trời trong cơi đựng trầu’ (Vietnam Women’s Museum, 2022); IN:ACT 2022 (Nhà Sàn Collective & Á Space, 2022); ‘Morning – Noon – Afternoon – Evening’ (Á Space, 2022); ‘Đèn kéo quân’ (APD, 2022); ‘Till later letters’ (Á Space, 2022).
Lê Thuận Uyên is currently Curator/Artistic Director of The Outpost – a Hanoi based private organisation committed to the collection, presentation, and discussion of contemporary art in Vietnam. Informed by her former training in politicial science, Uyen is interested in alternative histories, personal narratives that are rendered absent or undesirable by the official record. Her practice is also concerned with the investigations of forms and ideas within the social context and aesthetic traditions of Vietnam. Uyên is also a keen advocate for integrating art experiences into the universal educational system, as well as building capacity for the Vietnamese art landscape. Some of her past curatorial projects include: Fractured Times (The Outpost, Hanoi, 2022); Domestic Bliss (Ilham Gallery, KL, 2019); Gang of Five Chancing Modern (Hanoi, 2017); Sindikat Campursari (Jakarta, 2016);…
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