human & sacredness
Bọ
2024 - 2025
Stage 1: Drawing & Poem
Stage 2: Theatre
“Bug” is part of the series “And they will take roots wherever the soil goes,” which contemplates the idea that “We take birth from the soil.” “Bug” consists of two phases: phase 1, which centers on writing practices and visual works (2024), and phase 2, which evolves the previous writing practices into a play (2025).
“Bug” encapsulates the artist’s personal convictions regarding the interplay between the soul, life, and death, as well as a discourse with the sacred. Within the dialogue, the two characters embody the constraints associated with responsibility and the perpetual cycle of “birth.” In this scenario, God is viewed as equal to Bug, with neither incarnation being superior to the other.
The artwork also embodies contemplations on societal responsibilities, the challenges individuals encounter when relinquishing control, inquiries into accountability, and the perpetual recurrence of birthing cycles within the artist's interpretation.
Nằm mơ đan lưới trời
2023
Installation & Performance Art - Solo exhibition
"And They Shall Take Root Wherever the Soil Goes" is a series of Rab practices that explore the profound human relationship with the soil. This series delves into the sacredness and intimacy of this relationship, with a particular focus on three stages: ‘We take birth from soil’, ‘We live on the soil’ and ‘We vanish in soil’. These stages appear in parallel, randomly, without a clear beginning or end, much like the idea that every moment is a point on a circle and possesses the same significance.
The artwork "Dreaming of Weaving Sky Nets" is a piece that belongs to the ‘We live on the soil" stage. The artwork employs performance and installation materials to narrate the intricate relationship between all things and the universe. Influenced by Asian religions, the artwork presents the belief that the universe is composed of interconnected 'webs' of relationships and is in a constant state of movement and flux.
This artwork explores the myths and folklore surrounding the composition of the world as perceived by Asian and Vietnamese cultures. Its aim is to reconceptualize the notions of the body and home, and their interplay with predetermined societal outcomes, encompassing parental relationships, social standing, nationality and ethnic affiliations. The performance work associated with the transition from the domestic sphere, shouldering requisite burdens and responsibilities, to the eventual relinquishment of earthly existence, thereby severing all ties with that life by a simple act of walking through.
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The performance "Nằm mơ đan lưới trời" lasted for 12 hours, wherein the performers were blocked in the nest and then left the place. It was an act of walking through life, carrying all the burden and the concept of "duyên-nợ" (which translates to fate).
A note about the work
“From the moment of our birth, we are bound to this life. Growing and learning, until our bodies give in to strife.
Connections of fate and debt, we carry with us always; not just with people, but with every moment's fleeting ways.
Life is like a vast and intricate net, each point connected, vibrating with all that we've met.
Causes and conditions flow ceaselessly; life is ever transformed, hidden and veiled.
And we come to realize, in the end, that this ego, this body, are a mere illusion.
So we lie down, and dream a dream.”
A brief before human
2023 - On-going
"During the time I was working on the 'we taking birth from the soil', I became more connected to the births of the universe, especially about the constant movements/labor to create the world.
‘Deus faber’ is a phrase that I came across and was impressed by, a result of the above motifs of creating the universe. It views the Creator as a craftman who works hard to create the world.
Touching on the myths of birth and origin, from God of Heaven (Vietnam), Pan Co, Nuwa (China) to how God created the Universe and Humans in Genesis… I see them as 'engineers' or 'skilled workers' who create the world. And so this work, whether mental or physical, will have traces, manuscripts, sketches and notes about how they created all species.
I think before things took the form they are in now, there were trials, a state of them before 'they are what they are'. The universe will have records and drawings, humanity will be tested and adjusted before it has its present form.
These expositions are a prelude to those 'records', as small fragments of the gods' primordial mental state and creativity.
An imaginary archive of the world before humanity."
