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In this work, Danh Vo reimagines a 16th-century Spanish figure of Christ, acquired at auction, by casting it in bronze. The original wooden Christ figure – missing its arms and Cross – was previously displayed alongside the Tropaeolum majus, its red-flowered vines growing from glass tubes. In his eternal sleep, Christ’s head hangs heavy over an emaciated body, eyes closed in serene resignation, legs awkwardly twisted in death. Yet, the sculpture carries echoes of colonial histories: Christ as a symbol of Western expansion, and the Tropaeolum a plant imported from the Americas yet named by European botanists after ancient Greek war trophies.

To support the glass tubes holding the plants, Danh grafts the hands of his frequent collaborator – his father Phung Vo – onto Christ’s body. The bronze hands, emerging from the torso and neck, appear to reach out – perhaps to lift Christ upward or shield him from harm. Loaded with religious significance, the work invites interpretations of the Pietà, particularly the versions where God the Father cradles the body of his crucified Son. Phung Vo’s hands not only supports the figure of Christ but also symbolically uphold his son’s artistic practice. Here, the sacred and personal meet, and become transformed – a poignant meditation on faith, labor and familial devotion.

The original wooden sculpture, a fragile relic, is left to rest and decay in the artist’s gardens in Güldenhof (Germany).