HCMC – in transit: a ‘pause’ point in the midst of busy Saigon

28 Mar – 02 Apr noon, 09 am – 09 pm daily
PI-CHANNEL shop
31B Le Thanh Ton
District 1, HCMC

Through his artworks, Bill Nguyen likes to challenge physical and psychological behaviors by turning familiar spaces into unexpected situations where the original function of the space and the conventions of behavior associated with it, have been disrupted. In his performance entitled Tea Party, 2008, the artist and a friend quickly set up a cafe table and two chairs in the middle of a downtown city street, and sit down to drink tea together as cars and pedestrians maneuver around them until they clear the table away 30 minutes later.

If you enjoy encountering the unexpected, if you like to be surprised, come visit albb Open Studio and find out what Bill is next up to. Take a pause in the midst of busy Saigon, come and “transit” with Bill. You may leave with a different point of view about life, about art. Perhaps you might make some intimate friends too.

Bill Nguyen returned to Vietnam six months ago after completing his degree at Nottingham Trent University, England, and has been settling into the art community in Hanoi by reviewing exhibitions, interviewing artists and art students, and giving talks. In 2008 he participated in the 10+ exhibition at Nha San Duc, and he is also involved with the art and culture website, Hanoi Grapevine.

In his artworks, Bill combines different aspects of performance with sculpture, installation and text. He is intrigued by human behavior and surroundings, by the relationship between these factors and how they affect, alter and manipulate one another.

The root of this fascination comes from the fact that Bill has always been an outsider and a foreigner, to both Vietnamese and British cultures. However, being twin-cultured is in fact a powerful factor feeding his art practice and helping him to understand, explore and disrupt everyday life through his artworks. No matter what the medium or the location, Bill’s work is always a response to this mixing and matching of cultural differences.

Please visit albb’s blog for more information on the program and participating artist, or follow this project on albb’s Facebook page.

a little blah blah (albb) is an artists’ initiative that since 2005 has operated as a platform for contemporary art through a wide range of channels including projects, exhibitions & events, screenings, talks, a residency program, internships and an open-access archive of art books & catalogues. Our program has evolved in a pioneering spirit, in response to the gaps and needs of the Saigon art scene. Since 2008 we have re-focussed our program to presenting one major project each year, capacity building and the ongoing running of albb Reading Room.