Talk with Thao Nguyen Phan
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13 December 2021
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Talk with Caroline Ha Thuc, Bui Cong Khanh, Cyril Delettre, and Pan Lu
This talk focuses on research and knowledge production as a methodology for art making. Curator Caroline Ha Thuc, along with artists Bui Cong Khanh, Cyril Delettre and Pan Lu, will discuss artistic practices based on research and fieldwork. The discussion delves into the artists’ motivations to learn, generate, and disseminate knowledge through their creative processes. How has research informed their artwork and, conversely, how has art influenced their research work? In contrast to the academic field, artists enjoy a certain freedom from established rule: what kind of liberty do they find in this emancipatory form of research? What challenges have they met in converting their research findings into tangible forms of expression?
A number of artists participating in this exhibition drew inspiration from their fieldwork experiences. Using war medals from 20th century conflicts as molds, Khanh designed chocolate medals in collaboration with a local chocolate maker. His artistic and sweet bonbons serve to neutralize violence and symbolize reconciliation. Cyril, on the other hand, journeyed to the Mekong Delta and the Dak Lak region, conducting interviews with farmers to gain insights into their dreams. He transformed his encounters into an immersive photographic installation, inviting the public to, in turn, meet some of these farmers. Lastly, Pan Lu and Bo Wang focused their research on local botanical gardens and the history of cocoa in Hainan. Their creation, an interactive board game, encourages participants to assume the roles of historical figures such as a French missionary, a German anthropologist, and a Chinese general.
Bridging the realms of art and research, these artworks offer a rich and tangible form of knowledge, unveiling untold stories and shedding light on the multifaceted world of Asian cocoa. They propose original conceptions of art and knowledge in which cognition and aesthetics mutually converge, valorizing a plurality of modes of knowledge production.
This event is part of a series of public and education programs in association with In Stranger Lands: Cocoa’s Journeys to Asia, an exhibition organized by Nguyen Art Foundation.