Galerie Zink is proud to present the newest moving image work by Vietnamese artist Thao Nguyen Phan, titled 'Reincarnation of Shadows'. The work is the second and final manifestation of an on-going project by Thao Nguyen Phan. The initial version, a two-channel synchronised video installation in the form of a moving-image-poem, premiered at Pirelli HangarBicocca, Milan in September 2023. The second version will take the form of three-channel vertical screens that inherits the visual elements of the first version, while embarking on a docu-fictional journey of the life and work of Vietnamese modernist sculptor Diem Phung Thi (1920–2002). The artist was deeply inspired by Diem Phung Thi's life, from being among the first women graduated from French Indochina Medical school, to her journey of becoming probably the most beloved but under-discussed sculptor in her home country. Through a delicate and sincere narrative, the work connects the private and public dimensions of the modernist artist's life, letting her silent but deep desire for resistance and freedom emerge.
The video reflects on the social meanings of art history and architecture and the intergenerational relationships between women artists in post-colonial contexts. Phan questions the possibilities for the reincarnation and re-signification of hidden symbols, gestures and rituals that have remained in the shadows, passed down through whispered oral narratives and often overpowered by the lingering effects of colonialism. The idea of reincarnation pervades all of the artist's work, partly due to the presence of recurring visual and sound elements. Through an approach reminiscent of the Buddhist religion, the artist does not seek conclusive goals or results in her practice but turns each project into a kind of living organism that can readjust, mold and take on new forms.
Reincarnations of Shadows is a departure from Phan's earlier moving image works, which usually explore a specific subject matter: modern architecture and regional conflict in First Rain, Brise Soleil (2021-2022), famine and food security in Mute Grain (2019), environmental issues in the Mekong region in Becoming Alluvium (2019). The present piece is an embrace of the linear, the tidal, or the circular waves of time, depending on how our personal understanding of time in moving image could be.
In this work, the artist explores the moving image as cascade of reincarnations, which has the ability to constantly evolve and metamorphose. Phan's poetic visual language continues to develop throughout her oeuvre, and this latest project employs the shadows, movement, sound, the gestures, the symbolic and ritualistic endeavours of objects, architectural elements, and human gestures. Some mundane, some carry significant historical or political references. By incorporating the artist's hand painted watercolours amidst shot footage, the work delves into the relationship between moving image and drawings, how the act of drawings can coexist in the video medium as an ecosystem. A collection of poems and literary works that are inspired by the personal archive of Diem Phung Thi is incorporated through voice-over. Thematically, the work explores the poetic relations within pioneering female artists in post-colonial geographies - a hidden part of art history that shapes how we are and what we will become.
The screens, arranged vertically one next to the other, are a direct reference to the classical portrait tradition in art history, while the images are rhythmically accompanied by the sound of the dan tranh, a traditional Vietnamese string instrument.
28–30 March 2024
Vernissage
Wednesday 27 March, 4pm–8pm
Public Days
Thursday 28 March, 2pm–8pm
Friday 29 March, 2pm–8pm
Saturday 30 March, 1pm–7pm
Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC)
1 Expo Dr, Wan Chai,
Hong Kong