Photos from Landscape Art Exhibition “Crystal Cloud – La Pan Tan 2018″

Architect Hiep Nguyen has taken some breathtaking photos of the landscape art exhibition “Crystal Cloud – La Pan Tan 2018” by artists Andy Cao & Xavier Perrot with an analog camera. The exhibition takes place at the Mam Xoi Hill in La Pan Tan commune, Mu Cang Chai district, Yen Bai province from May 19 (growing season) to May 31 (harvest season).

The artwork “Crystal Cloud” is made with hand-sculpted galvanized wire mesh, and adorned with 58,000 brilliant Swarovski Crystals. The cloud formation is supported by a series of randomly-placed galvanized steel posts resembling a shimmering crystal forest.

After completing the CAO PERROT Crystal Cloud installation at Swarovski Crystal World in Austria, Andy Cao & Xavier Perrot dreamed of introducing the first “Traveling Cloud” in Vietnam. Their dream came true thanks to a chance encounter with Vietnamese architect Pham Duong and the Architects Association of Yen Bai Province. This fateful meeting led to a visit to Doi Mam Xoi, a high plateau in the “valley of a thousand steps” in La Pan Tan, Mu Cang Chai, one of the most photographed sites in Northern Highland Vietnam.

Standing on Doi Mam Xoi, surrounded by layer upon layer of rice terraces, and after observing the Hmong farmers tending the fields, Cao & Perrot had a vision that this beautiful site could be the ideal location for their first temporary crystal cloud installation in Vietnam. They also knew that creating such an ephemeral new artwork should be a close collaboration with the local Hmong community, highlighting the beauty of things handmade, and continuing the Hmong’s long tradition of sculpting the land.

Check out Hiep Nguyen’s photos of “Crystal Cloud” (used with permission):