Midday Night
mixed media
2024
mixed media
2024
Midday Night is a collection of works born out of family turmoil. With assemblages of made and found materials, I reflect on my father - who is recently incarcerated for his alleged economic crimes - and the complex relationship between us.
Installed at VAC, Hanoi in 2024
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
_
work #1 - White-collar
(white shirts, hanger, strings, vinyl decal)
White shirts, like a uniform of the burgeoning middle class in post-war Vietnam, embody both aspirations and anxieties. Following my father’s arrest, my encounters with former detainees heightened my awareness of the "white collar dream" fragility. The path to a secure future often navigates a precarious gray area. This piece, a relaxed form symbolizing sacrifice and peace, is juxtaposed with my father's poignant poem that ponders the realities of work.
_
work #2 - A bunch of papers
(single-channel video projected onto a bunch of blank papers)
While attempting to maintain balance on a boat, I hold and read a bunch of blank documents. The voiceover quietly reads my father's "Letter of explanation" to the prosecutors, conveying my struggle to maintain faith amidst the bureaucratic complexities of the situation.
_
work #3 - Twenty-something
(projection on framed archival print)
Upon a portrait of my father when he was twenty-something, his poem is projected, and only comes into focus as the viewer reaches out their hand. The poem - a self-interrogation on desire and corruption - is the closest thing to my father that I can reach.
Installed at VAC, Hanoi in 2024
_
work #1 - White-collar
(white shirts, hanger, strings, vinyl decal)
White shirts, like a uniform of the burgeoning middle class in post-war Vietnam, embody both aspirations and anxieties. Following my father’s arrest, my encounters with former detainees heightened my awareness of the "white collar dream" fragility. The path to a secure future often navigates a precarious gray area. This piece, a relaxed form symbolizing sacrifice and peace, is juxtaposed with my father's poignant poem that ponders the realities of work.
_
work #2 - A bunch of papers
(single-channel video projected onto a bunch of blank papers)
While attempting to maintain balance on a boat, I hold and read a bunch of blank documents. The voiceover quietly reads my father's "Letter of explanation" to the prosecutors, conveying my struggle to maintain faith amidst the bureaucratic complexities of the situation.
_
work #3 - Twenty-something
(projection on framed archival print)
Upon a portrait of my father when he was twenty-something, his poem is projected, and only comes into focus as the viewer reaches out their hand. The poem - a self-interrogation on desire and corruption - is the closest thing to my father that I can reach.