Nguyễn Thúy Hằng is a visual artist, poet and writer in HCM City. Her creations are based on the combination of different art forms such as sculpture, installation and dance in conjunction with cinema, painting and more. Some of her short stories have also been published in English, Filipino and Spanish. Inner Sanctum asks Hằng about her life and works.

Inner Sanctum: Can you tell us about your works, which often combine many art forms and styles?

I work mainly in two fields: literature and visual arts. But it is quite interesting that friends in other art fields find similarities in my work and want to bring my perspective or work into their own works.

Maybe my works contain a wide range of topics and subjects and are always open to other art forms to come in. That is why I often accept collaboration, just to see my works live in another environment, another aspect, and more colourful.

It surprises me to discover many hidden things in my works when they are mixed with other forms of arts, and it gives me a fascinating feeling.

Inner Sanctum: You are an enthusiastic participant in the flow of contemporary art. Can you share why you chose this unique path that always requires new discoveries?

Sometimes I realise that I have chosen a difficult path to go. But if it were not difficult, there would be nothing attractive to me any more. For me, choosing this tough path is obvious because I am living in accordance with myself, creating my own special world to be able to keep the attraction fresh in the profession to continue.

That is why I have to cultivate unique factors that make me who I am, and then I can enjoy and long live with it. Maybe as outsiders, people see it a difficult path, but I consider it a blessing and privilege in my adventurous life.

Inner Sanctum: What creates the unique style in your contemporary art works, and how has working and creating works in HCM City inspired you?

The most typical expression in my work is the melancholy, a fierce but also lingering emotion in peaceful leisure.

I try to bring in more imagination and strange colours to my works to dispel the dryness of emotion in HCM City's life. However, also here I can create my works liberally and freely, which is true to the spirit of this city.

In addition, being born and growing up in an old district full of nostalgia like District 5 also helped me have a deeper connection with my works, which can be seen clearly through the materials and origin of the ideas of works.

I am thrilled to see the presence of my works in the city. I want to leave a memory of myself and respectfully dedicate it to the place where I was born.

Inner Sanctum: How has contemporary art in HCM City recently developed and experimented, and how does this show through activities of you and your colleagues?

It seems that saturation is taking place now. It is currently difficult to find new and unique factors of contemporary art appearing frequently like in the past.

I think contemporary art in Việt Nam in general and HCM City in particular is currently fading away. In fact, there are broader activities but lack of depth of the works.

This is due to the influence of their income that strongly affected artists who intended to create works that are easy to sell quickly, rather than pursuing the inner artistic value. This is an inevitable rule coming from the general context of society.

I am not against selling works, but I hope that these works must have quality in both content and quality. Currently, I find that artists are being confused between these two directions. 

Inner Sanctum: Do artists pursuing contemporary art recognise the importance of studying properly at school and defining their professional path better than in the past?

There is no public school belonging to the state that teaches contemporary art in Việt Nam. Artists who studied fine arts separate themselves from their group to follow the direction of contemporary art, which is not in the formal system of the school.

However, various generations of artists who switched to work in contemporary art have been very successful in their new approach. They always have new works and participate in many important exhibitions at home and abroad. Their works are also chosen more and more by large organisations and collectors.

Inner Sanctum: How has contemporary art spread to the public and positively impacted the creative development of current popular artworks?

I see the influence and development of contemporary art reaching young people, even from primary school to university students. It is seen clearly in private schools.

In the Emasi International School system, for example, I am pleased to see that children from a young age have been thoroughly exposed to contemporary art through collections displayed on the school campus.

Fulbright University Vietnam is also a school where I think students are systematically educated and updated with domestic exhibitions for research purposes.

I believe that these schools would help train generations of students with a deep understanding of, and interest in, contemporary art.

In terms of education, I think that contemporary art plays an important role, and is a good influence that can spread widely in the lives of young people today. VNS