Photography – Page 2

Sanctified Clouds

On view at Mien Meo Mieng exhibition, Bildmuseet, Umea, Sweden

On view at The Picture Will Still Exist – Selected Works from Post Vidai Collection, dia projects

From afar, smoke has an irresistible charm, like beautiful fireworks. Modern Vietnamese history witnessed almost six decades of continual fighting (1930–1980). Flames burst on bodies, bridges, and towns. Smoke and haze of bombs resemble clouds, but also a deathly power. (RAQS Media Collective on Phuong Linh’s work at Shanghai Biennale 2016)

Almost 200 small masses of Sanctified Clouds fly over the wall, foam beautifully and shine in blue hue – the blue of peace, Oriental ceramics, and sacred mosaic paintings in Arabic temples. However, looking closely, we realize that these soft white are not clouds, but actually the masses of dust and smoke bursting all around. Phuong Linh collected images of bomb explosions, initially in the Vietnam War, and then gradually expanded to other conflicting areas in the Middle East. This expansion seems to be a reasonable progression along the history timeline, yet it is strikingly cruel when it demonstrates the repetition as never-ending acts of armed force in human history. To emphasize further the insensitive violence of bombing, Phuong Linh cut off the entire context of the photos, leaving only smoke and dust swirling in midair. When viewers are immersed in seemingly harmless and splendid clouds printed on pottery sheets, one suddenly awakens from the aesthetic illusion and realizes that he or she has fallen into a cloud of burning dust from hundreds thousands of bombs. When the exploded cloud dissolved, another explosion occurred to generate another cloud. They become immortal like saints.

Untitled Paired Digits (cmyk) – One/Eight

The latest conceptual works from George Papadimas are the products of his ongoing fascination with numerical sequences and the inherent relationships that occur within mathematical algorithms. Untitled Paired Digits (cmyk) (2013) is a beautifully intimate series of images that are as much a numerical exploration, as they are a reflection of the process of creation and adaptation. […] the base format of these works is the elementary representation of two paired numbers in written form. Saving and exporting this written information through multiple computer programs before finally reducing this visual outcome to its pure CMYK value, are processes that, due to the computer algorithms involved, irreversibly alter the original composition. In this way, both artist and technology become involved in shaping the final image. The resulting works of highly saturated hues swirl and intermingle in a haphazard way across the surface. Given the mathematical origins of the works, the final forms are surprising biological. These organic forms, colorful and highly luminous encourage a concentration on surface, which effectively shrouds the origin and process of the work. Once again, we as viewers are distanced from true understanding. At the heart of each work, mathematical premise reigns. The resulting aesthetics of his works however are almost the antithesis of each other; one fully embodies the harmonic relationship between line and form, and the other does its best to conceal. Whilst the methodology of the works are often difficult to comprehend, their differing forms encourage us to explore and reflect on the mysterious and perplexing relationships that exist within one or more objects. Papadimas’s engaging approach to expose and disguise a connected existence becomes an act that symbolizes evolutionary process. (Charlotte Gloerfelt-Tarp)

The Sumerians (Untitled 1)

The Sumerians (Untitled 2)

Come Out I

It started from Closer (2006) when Himiko Nguyen could not exhibit her nude photograph exhibition due to strict censorship on nudity especially female bodies. Come Out I hides photographs of Himiko capturing herself naked in black wooden boxes and demands the viewers to come closer to be able to see the photos through a hole. The photographs show Himiko in various position and emotion, mostly depicted herself in meditation or playful joy. Even though the public may see the nude images, it is almost impossible to recapture them thus they do not explicitly violate the moral code of censoring law. Come Out I becomes a strategic provocation to showcase sensitive content to the public and at the same time subtly teases the license system to exhibit art in Vietnam.

‘Today, queer cultural production is much more visible in Vietnam’s public sphere, and Vietnamese artists have continued to foster awareness of LGBT issues through their work. The multidisciplinary artist Himiko Nguyen’s 2011 photography installation, Come Out, aimed to counteract what she sees as public ignorance on gender and sexuality issues. Himiko laments the unwritten rules and constraints that she finds in Vietnamese society. Her comments indicate a thoughtful understanding on how ideology is implemented through national education and how it is naturalised by the general population. In a country where naked people cannot be shown in the media, Himiko admits that she chose nudes to push up against these ingrained boundaries.’ (Cristina Nualart)

Untitled

These bodies of works partly belong to ‘Salt‘ – solo exhibition by Nguyen Phuong Linh at Galerie Quynh. Salt comprises a suite of site-specific sculptures, an installation of stylized flowers created with over 700 articles of used clothing as well as photographs and a documentary video. The exhibition is the result of months of research conducted by the artist in the salt villages in Vietnam, from Hai Hau in the north to Sa Huynh in the central and Ba Ria – Vung Tau and Can Gio in the south. The exhibition, however, is not simply a documentary or a tribute to the salt communities; Salt reflects Nguyen Phuong Linh’s continued interest in sexuality and femininity, transformation and the ephemeral.

Untitled: These intimate photographs present abstracted details of the salt fields. With no visible figures to narrate, the images of salt can be appreciated in their varied forms and shapes during the processes of crystallization and erosion.