» Exercises in Filling the Gaps

A performance by Dang Thuy Anh, Luu An, Thanh Tuyen, Duc Hanh, Naomi Pomorska, and Ly Le

Artist Dang Thuy Anh’s project Exercises in Filling the Gaps responds to the Phụ Lục archive (2010–present) and the exhibition Phụ Lục trong mắt ai? (Phụ Lục in Whose Eyes?), curated by Van Do. Stemming from a personal experience – never having had the chance to witness all six members of Phụ Lục performing together at the same time – the project approaches Phụ Lục as a structure defined by lack, yet one that never loses its wholeness. In this light, Phụ Lục continues to exist as a collective entirety, shaped not only by what is present but also by what is absent, untraced, or surviving solely through memory and oral accounts.

While exploring the archive, the artist pays close attention to the voids: performances with no surviving photo or video documentation, or those passed down only through the words of those who witnessed them. These “gaps of absence” evoke the concept of “wind tomb” – a disembodied presence where memory and traces supplant physical form.

Through an open call and a workshop that combines archival research with direct collective collaboration within the gallery, the project invites five participants to engage, dialogue, and practice within this very structure of lack. This process does not aim to recreate lost performances, but rather opens up a space to imagine, experiment, and transmute that which no longer fully exists. The journey culminates in a series of live performances within the Phụ Lục trong mắt ai? exhibition space, constructed from fragments, gaps, absences, and that which can never be fully perceived.

In the absence of complete and comprehensive documentation, the original performances of Phụ Lục became fragmented points of reference. Navigating the gaps within these past actions and archival records, the participating artists inherited and re-enacted – or rather, “solved” – them anew. The structure of this mathematical equation remained in constant transformation throughout the performance, as the gaps within the original works were dismantled and filled anew through a different conceptual framework.

The equation began in darkness before the warm glow of an artificial sun gradually enveloped across the room. Meanwhile, in the innermost chamber, Dang Thuy Anh, Duc Hanh, Naomi Pomorska, Ly Le, and Thanh Tuyen lay unmoving, pressing close to the flickering glow of the solar-powered lamps.

On the surface of the ‘6-meter Table’, artist Luu An placed various objects one by one onto a white sheet: a microwave oven, grilled dried squid, a mortar and pestle, a container of liquid batter, a cake, a pig’s heart marinated by salt and ginger, a flashlight hanging from a hook, morse-coded documents, and tofu resting on a bed of coarse salt. Gradually, the static structure of the space began to stir, expanding through the artists’ alternating performative actions. Using their own bodies as percussive instruments, Thanh Tuyen and Duc Hanh took turns striking the drumhead with their foreheads, producing  steady, resonant beats. Meanwhile, Luu An repeatedly pressed the keys of a printer in a mechanical, almost machinic cadence. None of the objects remained anchored to their original positions or meanings.. The actions began to shift: as the drumming subsided, Duc Hanh slowly extended the movements of the body, advancing through the space along a straight line; while the rhythm of the printer became more intermittent, the sound of ink droplets falling from Thanh Tuyen’s hands gradually filled the silence, meanwhile Luu An applied lipstick, using the reflective surfaces of objects throughout the space as makeshift mirrors. In one corner, beneath a rack hanging Grab jackets, Naomi sat in stillness, her body held in a meditative gesture between two opposing air currents from electric fans.

Moving deeper into the cabinet system, within a darkness punctured only by faint, glimmering sparks of light, hands rhythmically threaded needles and spun thread over a thin mat. From the back of the room, two figures – Thuy Anh and Ly Le slowly emerged, standing motionless on either side of the walkway. Balanced on their shoulders was an oversized, ceremonial five-fruit offering platter, leaving only a clearance just wide enough for the audience to squeeze through. The threshold became an invitation to venture further into the hidden space beyond, where the performance continued to unfold.

The 6-meter Table – once occupied only by its original objects, gradually became surrounded by the presence of the artists. Each interacted with the materials before them: Ly Le grilled and hand-pounded the dried squid; Thanh Tuyen searched for needles at the bottom of the batter container; Dang Thuy Anh slowly gormandized the entire cake; Duc Hanh gently handled the pig’s heart while breaking pieces of ginger apart; Naomi repeatedly switched a flashlight on and off, casting light across the morse-coded documents on the table; while Luu An slowly chewed pieces of tofu until they were completely smashed.

Through this process, the exhibition Phụ Lục Through Whose Eyes? was reconstructed via these “additions” of new objects, newly formed relationships, potentializing new layers of meaning that transformed both the original performances and the exhibition display itself.

The event forms part of the satellite series of Phụ Lục Project, which concludes the two exhibitions Phụ Lục Through Whose Eyes? and Phụ Lục, How Are You?, ongoing since November 2025 at Nguyễn Art Foundation.