Life & Style
Mekong Delta farmers turn straw, stubble into gold
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| Green screens: Lêna Bùi uses sketches and videos in her latest installation at The Factory Contemporary Arts Centre, a mixed-use space in HCM City’s District 2, to depict her views on the life of plants and traditional farming.— Photo courtesy of The Factory Contemporary Arts Centre |
Viet Nam News
HCM CITY — Lêna Bùi’s latest exhibit Nắng Bằng Phẳng (Flat Sunlight) includes dozens of sketches featuring plants and vegetables at the Factory Contemporary Arts Centre, a space of art galleries and studios in HCM City.
The works are part of her collection called Nhật Ký Rau Củ (Diary of Vegetables), completed by Lêna after five months of working as a farmer.
The artist has worked with botanical specialists and ethnologists who took part in a project on farming and environment in Việt Nam launched by the Oxford University Clinical Research Unit in Việt Nam.
A painter and sociologist, Lêna used videos and documentaries featuring her interviews and her research to express her ideas.
“I wanted to help people discover and enjoy the life of plants. I used videos because they can keep my art alive,” said the 31-year-old artist.
Lêna and her staff, including Dr. Mary Chamber of the Oxford University, will also organise workshops for adults and children about the connection between the arts and society.
“I hope viewers will be able to understand the value of life, water and plants better after visiting my exhibit. I believe they’ll share my view about how global trends can change ideas about traditional farming,” said Lêna, a graduate of Wesleyan University in the US state of Connecticut and University of Doshisha in Kyoto.
Lêna, who now works in HCM City, has been involved in several projects that bring visual arts to local youth.
The Nắng Bằng Phẳng installation runs until November 11 at 15 Nguyễn Ư Dĩ Street, in Thảo Điền Commune in District 2.— VNS
