Art installation puts past through lens

The installation includes sculptures and videos on Vietnamese history during the French colonial period and its impact on the present-day Central Highlands, a topic that Linh researched for a year.

Using the elephant - a symbol of power and the holy spirit among the ethnic community in the region - as a point of departure, Linh explores the taming and exploitation of the animal, as well as the people, their culture and land, through time.

Artist Nguyen Phuong Linh will have multimedia installation to close Skylines with Flying People 3 art project at Hanoi Goethe Institute.

The installation will close the Skylines with Flying People 3 art project, which aims to increase awareness about contemporary Vietnam and promote dialogue and collaboration among different fields and communities.

The interdisciplinary art project set out to portray the landscape of contemporary Vietnam through the lens of local artists who were born and have grown up in the period of Doi moi (renewal).

Following on the success of Skylines 1 in 2010 in London and Skylines 2 in 2012 in Hanoi, Skylines 3 was initiated in 2014 and has 14 artists and six curators, numerous scholars and various museums, institutes and education organisations collaborating.

The project has 11 sub-subjects that deal with Vietnam’s complicated history, fragmented culture and issues related to migration, exploitation of nature, urbanisation and gender.

Skylines 3 was inaugurated by Nha San Collective, a non-profit artist-run art space in Hanoi that promotes contemporary and experimental creative practices. The co-founder and co-director of the collective, Linh is an emerging talent among Vietnam’s contemporary artists.

Born in 1985, Linh is a Hanoi-based multidisciplinary artist whose practice spans videos, sculptures and installations.

Her choice of materials, such as salt, dust, rubber fragments, and research interests deal with the transformation of geopolitical landscapes, human manipulation of nature, and alternative historical perspectives of modern Vietnam.

This is a breakout year for Linh, whose latest work was showcased at the Kuandu Biennale, Singapore Biennale and Shanghai Biennale.

The Last Ride can be viewed until January 21 at Hanoi Goethe Institute, 66 Nguyen Thai Hoc Street, from 9am to 7pm every day. Guided tours in Vietnamese and English are available at 2.30pm on January 7, 14 and 21.