The exhibition "Introspection" is considered a space that reflects the thoughts in the inner world of artist Mzung Nguyen. The female artist used more than 6,000 magazines, extracted the images in whole blocks by the method of tearing and pasting, "shaping" the stories she wanted to convey with oil paint, acrylic, watercolor, etc. This new approach can be considered the practice of painting with paper, not simply tearing and pasting.
Taking on many different roles over many years of artistic practice, Mzung Nguyen is a multimedia artist with a wealth of knowledge and diverse experiences. She brings her passion and love for art to the meticulous attention to detail in each small patch, pouring her thoughts into each work.
Introspection exhibition organized by 11:11 D'artistes.
"Reflection" - reflecting on one's own thoughts
Previously, Mzung Nguyen was known as an environmental activist - making policies, conveying messages to people with the hope of changing their consciousness. But gradually, she asked herself: "Does everything really need a message? Maybe today, this is right, but tomorrow it is no longer right." The outside world changes every second, the inside world also moves constantly. The physical and biological evolution also entails changes in the psychological and consciousness of humans.
The "shift" in Mzung's consciousness is expressed very subtly in the works in this Introspection exhibition. The artist, who was once so consistent that she was strict, now combines hundreds of details and images taken from countless different magazines to create a purposeful chaos in her works. "Everything is always connected, from the smallest parts of the human body to the great events happening in the world out there. The shift inside creates changes outside and vice versa," the artist shared. She calmly accepts this shift as a natural law.
Get back in touch with your inner self
Materials taken from the "Human Anatomy Atlas" appear frequently in the works in the "Introspection" exhibition. It seems simple, but are we acknowledging the existence of each cell and blood vessel that nourishes our body? The practice of drawing with these details is a way for the female artist to remind herself of the existence and close connection of all parts, even the smallest, in her own body. "I simply want to do a better job as a human being by reminding myself of all the parts of my body, so that they do not exist inorganically," Mzung shared with Travellive reporters.
A unique work combining human body parts with votive paper material makes many audiences curious.
The appearance of votive paper materials along with human body parts has made many viewers wonder. Explaining this unique combination, Mzung said: "Eastern consciousness is closely linked to the connection between life and death, body and spirit, past and future. It is the awareness of the cyclical nature of existence - of birth, decay and decay. The short existence of humans is just like a grain of sand in this vast and endless universe. But even in that temporary world, humans still have the urge to connect with every cell in the body, grasping every subtle sense as a way to immerse themselves in organic life on this earth. Those are the privileges of having lived and experienced the fluctuations of this life. In the end, does the most important thing still lie in the number of days we exist? Or does it lie in the meaning of each connection between us and the world, in the beauty of the journey to enlightenment?"
Surely those concerns are arranged in a chaotic and intentional way on the female artist's works in the Introspection exhibition. So that when looking at them, viewers can see the thoughts stirring inside them, having to turn back inside to contemplate seemingly simple ideas about the existence of the body parts. Deeper than the awareness of the existence of the self in this world. After all the changes in life, can the changes within ourselves make us mature?
A painting that evokes many thoughts about human lifestyle in modern life.
Have we ever taken off our glamorous exteriors to turn inward and converse with our original selves? Have we ever paused to question the essence of life, unfettered by social demands? Only in inner silence can we find the hidden beauty within each being.
“Introspection” takes the audience on the artist’s journey of reflection, while also giving them their own space to contemplate and understand. The works selected by 11:11 D’artistes make viewers wonder about existence and about themselves.
Some pictures at the Introspection exhibition:
The process of urbanization has invisibly placed humans in a situation of being surrounded by Rubik's cubes. Using the limited area of that physical space, we construct virtual worlds in an attempt to bridge the fractures of time and space, of the organic and the inorganic, of the external and the internal.
Consumerism is also a highlight of the exhibition with works reflecting the relentless onslaught of consumerism, materialistic thinking and the abundance of information that creates a whirlwind that easily swallows people in modern life.
Human life revolves around needs and desires. The desire to connect with fellow human beings, to commune with nature, or to escape from the restrictive prejudices and confinement of physical space are legitimate demands of every individual.
The female artist chats with tourists who come to see the paintings.
Visitors stopped for a long time in front of each painting by artist Mzung Nguyen.
Artist Mzung Nguyen graduated from the Faculty of Literature and Journalism in Hue and started her career as a journalist, screenwriter and independent filmmaker. During her filmmaking career, she has won many prestigious awards including: Silver Kite Award (2009), Special Jury Award, Vietnam Wildlife Film Fest (2015) and Golden Kinabalu Award of KKIFF2017 (2017). Mzung started her solo art practice in 2017 and had solo exhibitions “Rivers” (2021) and “Movement” (2022) held in both Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. After nearly ten years of experiencing many different cultures, participating in many social events in Vietnam and the world through journalism and filmmaking, Mzung Nguyen returned to Vietnam, focusing on his personal art practice since 2017. Mzung began painting with many materials such as oil, acrylic, watercolor, and recently with mixed media, on canvas, installation and sculpture.
