Description

With God's Crown of Thorns, Phi Long pondered Jesus's words "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do" - Divine Mercy (23). The Crown of thorns - braided thorns wrapped around the Lord's bleeding head - is a reminder of the humiliation and doubt that the "King of kings" endured to redeem humanity. This saying evokes thoughts about generous love, compassion, and patience in the recognition that the world is One. Going back 2000 years in history, the Crown of Thorns relic kept at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris is said to be one of the rare remaining samples. In this collection, Phi Long also drew many "Hic Domus Est Dei" No.5, which are samples of the Crown of Thorns and his imagination with meticulous pencil drawings. "Relaxation" with compassion and mercy is something that is not easy to have in a small, untrained heart and in the busy maturity of contemporary people. A space for the mind to anchor on the work, to take it easy on the situation, and then think about "leisure". The pencil drawings Crown of Thorns of God contrast with the linearity of "time"; the artist uses graphite - million-year-old fossil carbon on a young natural pine wood background. Each painting is a collection of tens of thousands of conscious, precise pencil strokes of reason and simultaneous improvisation. The lines simulate nature based on the wood grain, the perfection in the structure of pine wood - the wood that creates the spirit of Đà Lạt. Phi Long has made hundreds of pine wood sketches since 2016. These sketches are also evidence to examine the journey of intention to create material - in this case, works of art. It is a relaxing and honest work, like a ritual act that takes place in relaxation.

Description is excerpted from "leisure" Exhibition Press release, 2024.