Lead

Jun 17 08 7:13 PM

Tags : :

Where: 2902 Gallery. Old School. 11 Mount Sophia. 11B #B2-09
When: 19.06.2008 Thu 11.00am till 05.07.2008

What: From being a vassal state of China known as Nam Viet from 111 B.C. until the 15th century, modern Vietnam is about change and contradiction. With close to 60% of the population below the age of 30, the country seems to be invigorated with the fervour of youth and consumerism, hungry to plug into the latest global trends and fancies. As its capital, Hanoi is undergoing rapid urban development and social transformation. I am interested in the idea of transition and its relationship with the memory of the past, the changing of values, the passing of tradition and the aspirations of a different reality. I am keen to explore this idea through the social/private spaces within an evolving urban environment like Hanoi.

This series is presented like a visual Haiku. Intentionally left untitled, the juxtaposition of images produces their own narratives, temporal connections, and is open to many interpretations infused with the personal experiences of individual viewers. Similar to the Japanese Haiku, they are observations in its purest form, distilled into a simple gesture, a moment of reflection, a point in a continuum, touching on the beauty of imperfection, in delicate, quiet, nuanced moments.

Shown for the first time in Japan, these works were made in Hanoi, Vietnam during my residency with the Goethe Institut Hanoi. Selected works from this series has been shown at PhotoQuai Musee du Quai Branly Paris, Angkor Photo Festival, the Singapore Art Show and WM Gallery Amsterdam. This series will be exhibited in at Zeit-Foto in Tokyo and the Jakarta Biennale later this year.

http://www.farm.sg/index.php/farm/feature/hanoihaiku/