'Into the Darkness' - Solo exhibition by artist Vu Kim Thu

'Going into the Dark' is the result of a series of ongoing experiments using Japanese Washi paper and Vietnamese Dzo paper, combining line drawing and light installation. The idea originated from Kim Thu's first workshop at Mino Paper Village (Japan) in 2013, where she was introduced to paper and lamp making. In 2014, the artist developed the idea into a light installation at the Sapporo Artist Residency Program workshop (Hokkaido, Japan). Her most recent experiment at the ECO Art program (Muong Art Camp, Hoa Binh, Vietnam) in 2015 included elements related to space design and lighting.

Artist Vu Kim Thu was born in 1976 in Hanoi, graduated with a BA from the Hanoi University of Fine Arts in 1999 and a MA from the Art Institute of Chicago, USA in 2003. Thu has participated in many international creative camps such as: Vermont Creative Camp (USA), Goyang Creative Camp (Korea), Sanskriti Kendra (India), Schoeppingen Creative Camp (Germany), Mc Coll Art Center (USA), Rockefeller Bellagio Center (Italy) and La Coruna Museum of Contemporary Art (Spain)... these creative camps have contributed to influencing her artistic creation in many different directions. In recent years, Thu has loved and been influenced by Japanese culture. Her research on Washi paper and her experiences in Japan (Kamiyama Artist Residency Program, Mino Paper Art Village and Sapporo Creative Camp) have led Thu to experiments with paper sculpture and light installation.

“My world is a miniature world. It includes landscapes, nature, architecture and decorative scribbles that create the effect of a three-dimensional city. These drawings change with each destination and different space. When I arrive at a new city, I orient the structure of that city by repeatedly drawing the architecture, shapes and spaces based on real-life observations and later memories. I often draw the city in the form of a map. And those maps are assembled from structures that suggest roads, houses, and traffic. With a small stroke, I start to create my city, and from that small stroke, the city grows bigger and bigger…” Vu Kim Thu said.

The Thanh