Monument of Round Tray / Tháp mâm
Exhibited and performed at
+ Bình Quới Tourist Village, Saigon 2000
+ Japan Society 2001, New York, USA
+ National Fine Arts Museum, Bangkok, Thailand 2004
+ Chiang Mai Fine Arts Museum, Chiang Mai, Thailand 2004
+ Busan Biennale 2004, Busan, Korea
+ Dahlem Museum, Berlin, 2004
+ Saigon Biennale 2007, South-Vietnamese Women Museum, Saigon
Video of performance exhibited from 2007 – 2009 at
+ Kennesaw State University Gallery . Kennesaw, GA
+ The Trammel & Magaret Crow Collection of Asian Art . Dallas, TX
+ Mills College Art Museum . Oakland, CA
+ Stedman Gallery . Rutgers University . Camden, NJ
+ Dupree Gallery . Hope College . Holland, MI
+ The Clary M. Eagele Gallery, Murray State Universiry . Muray, KY
+ Center for Visual Art . Metropolitan State University of Denver . Denver, CO
+ Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Art Gallery . College of the Holly Cross . Worcester, MA
+ Utah Museum of Fine Arts . The Univerity of Utah . Salt Lake City, UT
+ Weisman Art Museum . University of Minnesota . Minneapolis, MN.
Year of creation
2000
Medium
Installation & performance art
Size
4m (height) * 8m (diameter)
Materials
400 aluminum round trays decorated with oil paintings; ropes, nude photos photocopied on papers
I have built a conic shaped tent, a monument for Vietnamese women using 400 round aluminum trays, the traditional tools used for serving meal.This artwork describes the sensibility and perseverance of Vietnamese women facing daily challenges.The monument reflects the colors of the sky changing in sunlight, glows with electric light, and echoes the sound of rain. The monument itself also resonates as the trays tease each other when the wind blows, an audible monument. The similar patterns around the trays create an image of monotony, which is seen as “perfect“ for the routine of traditional women. I invite people to explore the inside of the “hut” to find out about the innermost aspirations of these women being imaged by one hundred nude female figures flying in spite of the restriction imposed by conditioning. This “Monument of Round Trays” may be seen as a depiction of the inner conflict that Vietnamese women are struggling with in these days of modernization and globalization combining the potential for more personal choice with the pain of self-liberation.
