Watercolor and gold paint on handmade paper.

Description

Poong’s art focuses on balance in the environment, life’s transitions, and women’s role in society. In this painting, the central figure is a contemporary woman, possibly the artist herself, who looks back on her H’Mong heritage represented by two mothers; each with a child on their back. Poong employs several symbols: a checkerboard pattern represents balance in life between the modern and the traditional, between nature and humanity; sky faces are evidence of the figures being attuned to their environment, their large bare feet showing their link to the earth; and lotuses as signs of femininity and of Buddhist transformation. 

Description from "Vietnam in Transition, 1976–Present" Exhibition Catalog, 2023, p.22.