Memorial to a Piece of Floating Debris


Installation view of exhibition "Vietnam in Transition, 1976–Present", Wende Museum, 2023. Contributor: Nguyễn Thế Sơn.

Info
YEAR
CATEGORY
TECHNIQUES
SIZE
50.8 × 55.9 × 2.5 (cm)
MEDIUM

Hand-carved gmelina wood.

Description

This is a replica of a memorial plaque from the former Philippine Refugee Processing Center (PRPC), which commemorates the perilous journey of nine men and three women who fled Vietnam by boat in 1981. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees estimated that between 200,000 and 400,000 boat people died at sea. Other estimates put the number of fatalities closer to 700,000.

Description from "Vietnam in Transition, 1976–Present" Exhibition Catalog, 2023, p.42.