Installation view in Trần Lương, Tầm Tã - Soaked in the long rain. Photo: Daniella Baptista
Influential Vietnamese artist Trần Lương invited members of the public to lead him blindfolded "on a path of their choosing", as part of the opening weekend of a new survey exhibition of their work at New Plymouth's Govett-Brewster Art Gallery/Len Lye Centre.
Tầm Tã - Soaked in the Long Rain explores his life and work over the last three decades and is the artist's first exhibition in Aotearoa New Zealand, showing exclusively in New Plymouth.
Interactive performances, featuring the blindfold, took place in Pukekura Park and at Ngāmotu Beach on Saturday.
Trần Lương said he sought to get to know and learn about the communities he exhibited in through the exercise.
"Each time I return to a place, at best I manage to 'see' just a small hidden corner of life," he said. "This time, it is about voluntarily giving myself to strangers along the way, as a form of research, exchange and trust."
Working in paint, performance, installation, community engagement and institution-building, Trần Lương has navigated the limits of artistic expression and critique to build spaces for the exchange of ideas, and fostering of support among generations of artists in Vietnam.
Born in Hanoi in 1960, his early experiences were informed by the American-led bombing of North Vietnam (1965-72).
The artist began exhibiting in the 1980s, among the ground-breaking Gang of Five, often in friends' apartments or semi-underground spaces.
Trần Lương's practice has been shaped by the profound economic, political and social transformations he has experienced. In the 1990s, he moved towards conceptual and performance art, and in 1998, he co-founded Nhà Sàn Studio, the country's first artist-run space for experimental art.
In recent years, he has worked collaboratively with Xơ Đăng and Bru-Vân Kiều communities in central Vietnam to regenerate architectural knowledge at risk of being lost, and help build climate-resilient homes in areas at increased risk of flooding.
Curated by internationally respected curator Biljana Ciric the exhibition brings together works that reflect the artist's multifaceted roles as activist, curator, facilitator, archivist and mentor, highlighting the complex role the artist plays in Vietnam and Southeast Asia.
"We're honoured to present Tầm Tã - Soaked in the Long Rain, a landmark exhibition that brings Trần Lương's powerful and deeply collaborative practice to Aotearoa for the first time," said Govett-Brewster Art Gallery/Len Lye director Dr Zara Stanhope.
"His work speaks to the resilience of artists working under constraint and the transformative potential of art in shaping communities. This exhibition continues our commitment to showcasing bold, socially engaged contemporary art."
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