San Art is pleased to present the works of resident artists Tran Tuan, Orawan Arunrak, and Ta Minh Duc from session 6 of our San Art Laboratory program. The exhibition is an investigation into the power of free will juxtaposed against distintive social and historial contexts in Vietnam. 

Tran Tuan (Hue) once again brings into focus a family story that he has been carried along his whole life and serves as a recurring inspiration for his body of work, only this time the artist chooses to experiment with video installation, a medium new to his previous practices of sculpture, to address the question of consequences resulting from the act of making a choice in a particular social context. Unique to Vietnam’s history and the artist’ himself, the story tells the act of his grandfather, father, and uncles who cut off their index fingers to exempt themselves from military service along different periods of wars in the country’s history. The story serves as a living evidence to the game and rules of life that each and every one of us are bound to face once we step onto the realm of independent adulthood. 

Orawan Arunrak (Bangkok) presents another evidence of curiosity into Vietnam’s history. Her installation is the result of a foray into the dream of Vietnamese people at the current period of development and peace restored after centuries of wars and invasions. The project started with a simple question: ‘Where would you like to own?’ addressed to 30 individuals of various age living across provinces from North to South, and with each answer provided, the artist herself travelled to the indicated destination and drew sketches of the place. Her journey to produce the work is another affirming sign of the fact that a number of contemporary artists no longer confine themselves in the four walls of studio to produce artworks, but instead venture and engage with the outside world through different means to discover and create their art. 

Along the same line is artist Ta Minh Duc (Hanoi). This filmmaker made a trip to both ends of Vietnam to film stories that represent two extremes on the subject of trapping animals. From an old hunter’s story about a wild pig who bit off its leg to escape from a trap set up in the jungle, the first video exposes a young entrepreneur who made a fortune farming wild pigs for supply to restaurants while the second portraits animals in the zoo. We follow a story that may or may not be true, that speaks of the spirit of a wild animal, with a will of its own and a survival instinct so strong to make a sacrificing act of nullifying a part of its body in order to live; to confined animals, and conclude with a herd of wild species now born and raised within the comforting boundaries of domesticity, apparently possessing absolutely no conscious of their entrapment and the deadly fate awaiting them ahead. Duc’s work poses the question: To what extent are we affected or aware of the fabrics of the place we are born in? 

To book guided exhibition tour (Saturdays @ 3PM) please contact hello@san-art.org 

Artist talk: Thursday 14th May, 6:00 - 8:00PM