HAZEL AT HOME: Waiting for Nightfall - Annamite Striped Rabbit, acrylic on canvas. Photos coutersy Hanoi Grapevine

BÌNH ĐỊNH — An exhibition showcasing some of 100 pieces by Đào Văn Hoàng and Nguyễn Tiến Dũng offers a chance for spectators to approach wild nature in a more creative way.

The exhibition entitled Into Wildlife is held by Hanoi Grapevine in parallel with seminars at the International Centre for Interdisciplinary Science and Education (ICISE) in Quy Nhơn City, the central province of Bình Định.

It introduces a style of art known globally that is still relatively unheard of in Việt Nam.

The event includes scientific research illustrations, wildlife paintings, and wildlife conservation graphic novels.

Hoàng has undertaken adventures in tropical forests throughout Southeast Asia, central Africa and South America, living among nature.

These long-awaited encounters, represented in his painting, are between the artist and the animal as two equals living in a shared environment.

There is no relationship of force or domination between man and animal, neither side prevails over the other. Depending on the species he is depicting, Hoàng adopts a point of view adapted to its characteristics.

One of his paintings at the exhibition Waiting for Nightfall – Annamites’ Stripped Rabit shows a placid rabbit sleeping peacefully in its den. The moment reflects the animal's calm nature and personality, and the stillness of the surrounding forest.

It is thus not only a scientific observation – which is intended, by definition, to be objective – that Hoàng paints, but a real narrative around the bond uniting humankind and animals.

Being observed by its subject, the viewer becomes an integral part of the scene depicted in the artwork.

Hoàng dedicated the first part of his life to computing and advertising. After working for more than fifteen years in the world of advertising, and bouncing between France and Việt Nam, he finally returned to nature by becoming its painter and most faithful observer.

During his childhood, Hoàng used to observe the animals in the Sài Gòn Zoo, patiently watching them and how they behaved, and sketching their features that he had memorised once he returned home.

His travel diaries testify to his sharp eye and almost scientific inclination. For years, he travelled across several continents and assiduously drew the smallest details he found.

Hoàng carefully observes the natural beauty around him painting precisely and methodically as if for research purposes while Dũng describes the journey of discovering and bringing animals back to nature.

INTO THE WILD: One of the paintings by Nguyễn Tiến Dũng at the exhibition.

He narrates stories from many different points of view with a powerful and compassionate educational message.

In this exhibition, Dũng displays works from two graphic novels Saving Sorya: Chang and The Sun Bear and Saving H’non: Chang and The Elephant, co-authored with conservationist Trang Nguyễn.

The work, about the journey of wildlife conservation, was published by Kim Đồng Publishing House in Việt Nam and was quickly licensed by many publishers to be distributed to countries such as the United Kingdom, United States, South Korea, China, Turkey, Norway, Russia. It has also won several prestigious awards.

Dũng is the first Vietnamese artist to receive the YOTO Carnegie Medal for Illustration in the UK.

The exhibition provides the viewers with a fresh perspective so they can better comprehend the particular approaches or methods used by the two artists who are engaged in this subject to produce their work, as well as the distinctions between traditional painters, science illustrators, and comic book creators and graphic novelists.

It is open daily from 8am to 5pm by reservation and lasts until September 13, 2023, at 7 Khoa Học, Quy Nhơn City. — VNS