A corner of an art exhibition featuring the land of Việt Nam and France by Vietnamese-French photographer, filmmaker and installation artist Nguyễn Lê Phương Linh. It will open at IDECAF on September 27. - Photo courtesy of the organiser

HCM CITY — An art exhibition featuring the land of Việt Nam and France by Vietnamese-French photographer, filmmaker and installation artist Nguyễn Lê Phương Linh will open at the Institute of Cultural Exchange with France (IDECAF) in HCM City on September 27.

The “Dictionary of Image” exhibit will feature an installation with photos and abandoned items including rocks.

It will include about 100 photos featuring the natural environment and urban and countryside landscapes in France and Việt Nam.

The images reflect the faces of the land as well as Linh’s thoughts about nature, urban areas, portraits, and materials and architecture abandoned or used by humans.

As an installation artist, Linh will not hang up photos on the wall but will use abandoned items and rocks from factories and turn them into frames and pedestals for her photos.

According to the artist, the photos can be set up on the ground at a corner of a wall or on the ceiling. They can also be placed in boxes, and be folded or even torn.

The artist will also show an experimental video which features letters and images. In the video, a word in Vietnamese or French is evoked, and then an image and video relating to the word are shown.

“This video is like a journey, from words to pictures, from words to expressions. Words and images are used as materials, textures and colours, which are sometimes together or opposite to create new meanings,” Linh said. 

Born in Việt Nam, Linh moved to France when she was 16 years old. She graduated from the Nimes School of Fine Arts in 2016.

She has taken part in several artist residency programmes in southern France including FRAC (Regional Collections of Contemporary Art) Centre, Maisons Daura and Espeyran Castle, and Villa Saigon in Việt Nam.

She combines video, photography, and installations to create her works.

She has interest in the land and has travelled frequently to capture images for her materials, textures and colours.

Linh is taking part in the artist residency programme Villa Saigon X. A. Farm, which is co-organised by the French Institute in Việt Nam and the city-based arts hub A. Farm.

The exhibition will close on October 18. IDECAF is at 28 Lê Thánh Tôn Street in District 1. — VNS