REMEMBER WE ARE DUST
& THE LETTER Y
2024
Sculpture
Material: Vietnamese rice paper
A brick granted by an uncle led to many unexpected trajectories.
“You are Peter, a stone; and upon this rock I will build my church; and all the powers of hell shall not prevail against it.” (Matthew 16:18, The Living Bible)
Hung on the wall, The Letter Y is an installation featuring a collection of archived photographs and documentation of Vietnamese immigrants in Thailand from various periods, displayed on bricks made of Vietnamese rice paper–a delicate, versatile, and portable edible material that has been widely used throughout their migration journey. The creative process is both thoughtful and meditative. It begins by placing reversed photographs on the rice paper bricks and gently rubbing each layer, making the images and texts gradually emerge. The result is always a blurry, indistinct image, as if the past is slipping away into thin air. The whole process reflects the act of learning history: selective, careful, and elusive, as memories and stories fade and shift over time.
Remember that we are dust is a performative installation presented as an unfinished construction site. The sculpture is made up of hundreds of handcrafted rice paper bricks, simulating the dim and ethereal path of light from the church’s windows. Beneath, a cruciform light casts a mysterious yellow glow upward, turning the piece into a living, sacred form. Above, water drips down and gradually erodes the form of the rice paper bricks and printed images. This work emphasizes the ongoing cycle of destruction and reconstruction, reflecting on how beliefs and concepts are formed, dismantled, and reformed. It is also an installation aimed at honoring Catholicism as a sanctuary of faith–a shelter where many Vietnamese people have sought solace in their moments of despair during various periods of history.
Together, the two pieces converge at the brick given to Xuân-Hạ by an uncle she met in Vientiane. The brick is a relic of French colonization in Vietnam, but more than a symbol of the past, it was passed like a sign of trust and knowledge between different generations, through which begins the process of self-constructing. The brick, in its simplicity, becomes a catalyst for transformation, a tangible reminder that the stories of those who came before can inform and empower the path for the future.
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Curatorial written by Duyên Lê
Photo : Xuân-Hạ, Lakkasorn Thanaporn
© 2024 Nguyen Vu Xuan Ha

Installation view at the exhibition On Paper: Remembrance as Writing, KULTX, Khon Kaen, Thailand.