Steel frame, hand-twisted barbed wire.

Description

Trong Gia Nguyen’s barbed wire “paintings” draw inspiration from a visit to Vietnam’s Côn Đảo archipelago, particularly Côn Sơn, a historically significant former prison island. The prison cells and communal spaces on Côn Đảo featured menacing partitions and ceilings constructed with barbed wire nets, symbolising the utmost level of security. Nguyen meticulously crafts his artworks using hand-twisted barbed wire, evoking these formidable fences. The intertwined wires form silhouette portraits of Colin Kaepernick’s iconic kneeling protest and Christ the Teacher from the 40-metre tall mural The Word of Life (aka Touchdown Jesus) at The University of Notre Dame. These juxtapositions epitomise the conflicting aspects of sports culture, emphasising overwhelming athleticism alongside a relative lack of socio-political responsibility.

Description is excerpted from "Neverwhere" Catalog, 2023, p.82.