Nguyen Manh Hung

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Hidden Place no.2

2019

Oil on canvas

100 x 100 cm

Consistently using realistic style, through keen satirical humor with the distinctive sense of playfulness, Nguyen Manh Hung’s works reflect the comical situation of contemporary Vietnam.
In ‘Hidden place no.2’, Nguyen Manh Hung presented the components constructing this painting as a set of ‘ingredients’ for cooking, by which the audience found themselves confronted as a chef. If you get such ‘culinary arts’, you could know instinctively which kind of dish is being prepared just by seeing the ingredients. Likewise, in ‘Hidden place no.2’, the components served here, though not too much, yet were put concisely and sufficiently; thus distinctly perceived by the audience: those typical elements of violence, beliefs, the concealing, modernism, traditionalism, Western civilization, East culture,…
Hung has always been thinking about his own death, dwelling upon many questions such as: What will I be like after death? What kind of beliefs I have for this life, and when facing death will I persistently defend and hold on to these beliefs? Will I hide myself behind such beliefs? And whether such beliefs would be strong enough for me to shield myself and rely on?Through this painting, Hung invites the audience to find the answers for themselves!
Everyone has their own life to live!