While the soil slumbers
03 pm – 08 pm, 27 – 31 July 2024
A.Farm Studios @ Tree House
6/4 Nguyen Dang Giai, Thao Dien, Thu Duc, HCMC
From the organizer:
A. Farm and Goethe Institut Ho Chi Minh City are excited to present ‘While the soil slumbers’ — a showcase by our season 5 artist-in-residence Linh San, as a way to conclude her three months with us.
“When I first began working with ceramics, I thought the two deciding elements of the material–clay and kiln–could not be separated from my body of work. My approach to the material has changed after three years, which resulted in the expansion of my ceramic-making process. The word “and” in “clay and kiln” suggests that firing is a required step for clay to transform into ceramic. I am now thinking about materials according to a different ph(r)ase: raw clay and post-fired things. That implies when raw clay becomes the material element that captures my attention, firing for me now is just a method of making, an option.
I learned from craftsmen that to work with ceramics, I have to ‘be in touch with the kiln’. When I submitted my residency proposal, I was certain that the place I would be living in would not be ideal for producing pottery. Leaving my studio in Hanoi, travelling on field trips around Southern Vietnam where there are or were pottery villages, I questioned and challenged my own approaches to ceramics and materials. In so doing, I tried to be able to work anywhere, not necessarily tied to a studio space or a kiln. While the soil slumbers is formed through trips, a complex of new and old memories in different lands, a subtle warmth that lingers after miles.” – Linh San
About Linh San
Linh San is a multidisciplinary artist based in Hanoi, Vietnam. Linh holds a bachelor’s degree in Literature from the Hanoi National University of Education and her practice spans poetry, moving images, and ceramics. In her work, she depicts poetic, plain, and contemplative moments from daily life. Linh’s literary works often take the form of prose poetry, very much a reflection of her way of thinking—a stream of thoughts and mental images gushing through terrains of narratives and emotions connected via imaginative links. San’s poems have appeared in The Margins, Poetry Translation Centre, and various anthologies. Her short films have been screened at Hanoi Goethe-Institut, Thai Nguyen University, and the National Museum of Indonesia, among other places. In 2022, Linh San presented her first solo exhibition, titled “no longer holding a cloud”, at Á Space, Hanoi. She received the Prince Claus Seed Awards 2023 as an emerging artist.
About A.Farm
A. Farm is an international art residency program in Ho Chi Minh City, operated by MoT +++ and Goethe-Institut, supporting collaboration and exchange among Vietnamese and international artists.
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