Longan

Opening: Tues 15 Sept, 7pm
Exhibition: 16-20 Sept 2009
Nha San Duc

Nhãn/Longan – solo exhibition by Hoàng Minh Đức

…the longan has long become a part of who I am and what I do. Not only a vital source of inspiration, it also has consistently been my key medium.

hoang minh duc

Born and bred in Hung Yen, my childhood is filled with memories of the one thing that makes this place one of the most famous provinces in the North of Vietnam: its delicious and juicy longan. Up until now, I can still recall stories told by my ancestors, about how our longan was especially reserved as a tribute to the kings; along side are games my friends and I used to play underneath the longan trees; as well as baking summer days when we all had to go onto the fields to gather ripened logans. But above all, it is the exceptionally sweet and fragrant taste the logans produce that is most unforgettable. Just like that, the longan has long become a part of who I am and what I do. Not only a vital source of inspiration, it also has consistently been my key medium.

The longan, which literally translates ‘dragon’s eyes’ in Vietnamese, is named so because of the fruit’s resemblance to an eyeball when it is shelled. The seed is of an enamel-like, lacquered black and shows through the translucent flesh like a pupil. Therefore, by joining hundreds of seeds together, I am trying to ask the public to open their ‘eyes’ and minds to one another; to create both a metaphoric and physical bond between themselves, and between them and I; and to ensure that this precious link is forever maintained.