» À la ferme

À la ferme (On the Farm) is a six-panel painting, revolving around a single figure – let us call them X. In each panel, X appears at a different distance, sometimes near, sometimes far, as if floating in an undefined, weightless space. The surroundings are stripped of context, filled only with solid black or cobalt blue – a haunting hue that recurs throughout Tran Trong Vu’s work since his move from Vietnam to France.

Above X, a stream of water pours down, rhythmically – three times a day, like clockwork. Vu recalls the collective water taps of subsidized-era Hanoi and the familiar cadence of public loudspeakers broadcasting daily slogans. Rather than confronting these memories head-on, Vu renders their intensity with biting humor: the scene becomes a ritualistic performance, absurdly repetitive – a moment where one smiles even as tears seem ready to fall.

Like much of Vu’s practice, À la ferme is marked by irony and absurdity. The figure is deliberately drawn out of proportion, stretched or distorted to provoke unease, even irritation. The palette is pop-bright, poster-like, echoing the language of propaganda while slyly subverting it. Here, meaninglessness is taken to an extreme, becoming a mirror that reflects collective life, personal memory, and the unnamable forces that shape them.