Artists portray mind, flesh, matter

The final exhibition – Mind, Flesh, Matter – of the "San Art Laboratory: Session 4" residency for artists, is being held at San Art in HCM City's Binh Thanh District.

To prepare for the exhibition, artists Lai Dieu Ha, Le Phi Long and Nguyen Van Du worked for six months researching the relationships between the body, mind and the physical environment.


For his work, Du used several pounds of fresh beef transported from a local abattoir that were later cooked and served with typical local flair.

The subject of violence in his works, large-scale canvasses that reveal a controlled horror in slaughter, can be seen in thick gestures of oil in red and pink, as if his brush is a knife of destruction.

Long spent a great deal of time during his residency with the remaining families struggling to eke out a living near Can Gio, a UNESCO natural reserve.

His sculpture, photography, performance and drawings refer to "the trauma of industrialising societies".

Questioning whether such suffering is determined by human genetics or social circumstances, Ha worked with industry professionals and their patients using modes of theatre, props and the dramatisation of the self, all methods used in psychodrama therapy.

As part of their residency and exhibition, the three artists will hold a talk about the trials and tribulations of experimentation with materials and the complexities of working with others in the exploration of ideas behind the Mind, Flesh, Matter exhibition.

The exhibition runs until August 7 at San Art, 3 Me Linh Street in Binh Thanh District.