Tuan Mami

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Myth East Mist

2016

Original location: ACC-Asian Culture Center, Gwangju, S.Korea, 2015-2016

Dimensions variable

Myth East Mist is based on research about the Vietnamese community in S.Korea, where about 65,000 multicultural Vietnamese–Korean families live. Most of the families consist of Vietnamese brides who have come/brought to S.Korea to marry strange Korean man. Many brides bring their mothers from Vietnam to stay with them, who cannot speak the foreign language, have no friends, and remain isolated.

I rebuilt a grand mother bed room in gallery space where holding their story and homesick marks.

Also, from utilizing the Vietnamese old myths, I create a platform in the gallery space for 50 Vietnamese women in S.Korea where they not only enact a knitting ritual, but also where they can meet each other and share their stories.

The performance uses the ritual and hobby of knitting. As same as the mysterious stories in Vietnam wars about those women who knitted sweaters and scarves to send to their men as a symbol of protection and as a love message. (Text courtesy of the artist)