Edith-Russ-Haus for Media Art opens an exhibition of work by Tuấn Andrew Nguyễn
The First Art Newspaper on the Net    Established in 1996 Friday, November 22, 2024


Edith-Russ-Haus for Media Art opens an exhibition of work by Tuấn Andrew Nguyễn
Tuấn Andrew Nguyễn, When Water Embraces Empty Space, 2024, courtesy of the artist.



OLDENBURG.- A majestic hand-carved wooden boat is the protagonist of Tuấn Andrew Nguyễn’s new solo exhibition, When Water Embraces Empty Space. The story of the boat, past and present, spreads throughout the entire building, told through video installations and collaboratively made objects.

The sixteen-meter-long outrigger sailboat in question is called the Luf boat, named after the Papua New Guinean island from which it originates. The local and ancient knowledge in the region, of both plants and the ocean, required to build such a boat is nothing short of remarkable. Generations who grew up in Berlin know the magnificent object from school excursions to the Ethnological Museum in Dahlem. Since 2020, part of the museum’s collection has been housed in the Humboldt Forum; here, the Luf boat is presented as the institution’s crown jewel.

According to the historian Götz Aly in his book The Magnificent Boat, the arrival of the Luf boat to the Berlin collection has a dark and troubling history. The object is connected to the sustained violence that the Imperial German Navy and German traders perpetrated on the people of Papua New Guinea. The islands’ forest and natural resources were destroyed and replaced with plantations, which the Papuans were forced to work on, and the colonizers raped local women. When the islanders resisted these atrocities, the Imperial Crown ordered their massacre through so-called punishment expeditions—as happened on Luf.

In 2021, the Humboldt Forum commissioned a video interview with descendants of the few Luf inhabitants who survived this colonial aggression. They expressed their wish to see the boat, mourned their community’s lost knowledge of how to produce this type of watercraft, and expressed a hope to reconnect with it.

Tuấn Andrew Nguyễn ‘s exploration started from this juncture: his goal became to fulfill this wish and make the meeting possible. The artist believes that the Luf boat is a bridge between the past and the future, between the dominant narrative of German colonialism and the erased stories of the people of Papua New Guinea. It is a bridge between fact and fiction, testimony and resilience.

The exhibition’s series of multichannel film installations together present a narrative built from conversations between the Luf boat builders’ descendants,—Stanley Inum, Fordy Stanley and Enoch Lun—and the Humboldt Forum team as well as documentation of the islanders’ long-awaited meeting with the boat. Other videos present footage of the Luf community’s attempt to rebuild the boat. The aim is to create an object that would resolve the relationship between object and narrative, between maker and keeper, and between trauma and healing.

Colonialism destroys and controls memory. In the wake of all this destruction, what strategies do we have to recuperate memory? Can fiction fill in the gaps, give agency, and act as a tool of healing inside the voids that remain?

Maybe the boat needs to float out of the museum, where it is being displayed, and disappear in the oceans as it was meant to be—a sea burial for the chief of Luf or for a larger more metaphorical burial, one of the continuation of colonial ideals in our current times.

Tuấn Andrew Nguyễn’s practice explores the power of memory and its potential to act as a form of political resistance. The Vietnamese/US artists’ practice is fuelled by research and a commitment to communities that have faced traumas caused by colonialism, war, and displacement. Through his continuous attempts to engage with vanishing or vanquished historical memory, Nguyễn investigates the erasures that the colonial project has brought to bear on certain parts of the world. Through this collaborative practice, he explores memory as a form of resistance and empowerment, emphasizing the power of storytelling as a means for healing, empathy and solidarity.

Nguyễn has received several awards in both film and visual arts, including an Art Matters grant in 2010 and a VIA Art Fund grant. He won the Joan Miró Foundation award in 2023. His work has been included in several international exhibitions including the Asia Pacific Triennial 2006, the Whitney Biennial 2017, the Sharjah Biennial 2019 and Berlin Biennale 2022.

Nguyễn co-founded The Propeller Group in 2006, a platform for collectivity that situates itself between an art collective and an advertising company. Accolades for the group include the grand prize at the 2015 Internationale Kurzfilmtage Winterthur for the film The Living Need Light, The Dead Need Music and a Creative Capital award for their video project Television Commercial for Communism. Besides a major traveling retrospective that began at the MCA Chicago, the collective has participated in international exhibitions including The Ungovernables (2012 New Museum Triennial), 2012 LA Biennial, Prospect3 (2014 New Orleans Triennial), and the Venice Biennale 2015.










Today's News

November 1, 2024

Pioneer of photo art: Katharina Sieverding at K21

SJ Auctioneers announces online-only Fine Collectibles, Jewelry, Silver & Toys auction

Bertoia's Nov. 22-23 auction welcomes holiday season with pedigreed antique toys, trains & banks

Extraordinary antique breweriana collection of former Anheuser-Busch exec on tap at Morphy's, Nov. 13-15

Leonora Carrington's masterpiece in sculpture to lead Sotheby's Modern Evening Auction

Full line-up unveiled: Sotheby's Hong Kong Modern & Contemporary Art Auctions 11 & 12 November 2024

Modern and Contemporary Middle Eastern Art including Highlights from the Dalloul Collection totals $6,427,512

Widest-ranging exhibition of Italian Renaissance drawings ever shown in the UK opens at The King's Gallery

Exhibition at Bundeshunsthalle presents dance as a global form of representation and expression

Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences announces new acquisitions

Edith-Russ-Haus for Media Art opens an exhibition of work by Tuấn Andrew Nguyễn

Christie's to offer the only surviving landscape in oil by Van Dyck

Solo exhibition of new and recent work by Mika Tajima opens at Pace

Lisson Gallery announces representation of Carolee Schneemann Foundation

Gagosian opens an exhibition conceived and curated by the artist Peter Doig

Galerie Miranda opens 'Ellen Carey + Tomas Van Houtryve: Black and white, topographies'

Exhibition of new paintings by British artist Fiona Rae opens at Miles McEnery Gallery

Paula Cooper Gallery announces representation of Ralph Lemon

Original concept drawings team up with other historic firsts in Heritage's Comics & Comic Art Auction

Patek Philippe gold chronograph offered at auction for first time

Centre Pompidou-Metz opens Cerith Wyn Evans' first solo exhibition in a French institution

Comparing Popular Needle Felting Kits: Which One Is Right for You?

Gifts for Every Occasion: Your Ultimate Guide to Unique and Heartfelt Presents

Getting Ready for Motorcycle Transport? A Checklist for House Cleaning and Bike Prep

Romaine Waite: Embracing New Experiences and Expanding Creative Horizons

Why Bamboo Toilet Paper is the Eco-Friendly Choice: Understanding the Benefits of Master Roll's Bamboo Toilet Paper

The complete guide to Microsoft Certifications: boost your IT career

How NFTs Could Revolutionize Price Indexing for Emerging Artists

Perfect Gift for All Occasions at Robert Kline Art

How Buying Gift Cards Enhances Special Occasions

DIY and Professional Mushroom Cultivation: Supplies, Tips, and Avoiding Pitfalls

Exploring the Evolution of the London Art Market: Trends and Insights




Museums, Exhibits, Artists, Milestones, Digital Art, Architecture, Photography,
Photographers, Special Photos, Special Reports, Featured Stories, Auctions, Art Fairs,
Anecdotes, Art Quiz, Education, Mythology, 3D Images, Last Week, .

 



Founder:
Ignacio Villarreal
(1941 - 2019)
Editor & Publisher: Jose Villarreal
Art Director: Juan José Sepúlveda Ramírez
Writer: Ofelia Zurbia Betancourt

Attorneys
Truck Accident Attorneys
Accident Attorneys
Holistic Dentist
Abogado de accidentes
สล็อต
สล็อตเว็บตรง

Royalville Communications, Inc
produces:

ignaciovillarreal.org juncodelavega.com facundocabral-elfinal.org
Founder's Site. Hommage
to a Mexican poet.
Hommage
       

The First Art Newspaper on the Net. The Best Versions Of Ave Maria Song Junco de la Vega Site Ignacio Villarreal Site Parroquia Natividad del Señor
Tell a Friend
Dear User, please complete the form below in order to recommend the Artdaily newsletter to someone you know.
Please complete all fields marked *.
Sending Mail
Sending Successful