BECOMING ALLUVIUM
Thao Nguyen, 2019-ongoing, 16’
The film builds on Phan’s ongoing research into the Mekong River, which runs through China, Burma, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. The waterway supports the largest freshwater fishery in the world, as well as rice agriculture and ecosystems in its Vietnam delta. Her work builds up a multi-layered, aesthetically thrilling, poetic body of work.
Thao Nguyen Phan (b. 1987, Vietnam) trained as a painter, Phan is a multimedia artist whose practice encompasses video, painting and installation. Drawing from literature, philosophy and daily life, Phan observes ambiguous issues in social conventions and history. Phan exhibits internationally, with solo and group exhibitions including Pirelli HangarBiccoca (Milan, Italy, 2023); Venice Art Biennial (Venice, Italy, 2022); Tate St Ives, (Cornwall, UK, 2022); Chisenhale gallery (London, 2020); WIELS (Brussels, 2020); Rockbund Art Museum (Shanghai, 2019); among others. In addition to her work as a multimedia artist, she is co-founder of the collective Art Labor, which explores cross disciplinary practices and develops art projects that benefit the local community.