Two-channel video (HD, color, sound) installation, synchronised, ratio 16:9.

Description

Tropical Siesta is a moving image work by Phan Thảo Nguyên thật tells an imaginary tale of a rural Vietnam populated only by children. Set in an agricultural community, they re-enact the observations recorded by French Jesuit missionary Alexandre de Rhodes (considered the father of the romanised Vietnamese script) as he travelled across Vietnam in the 17th century. 

The two channel work can be seen as an extension of the artist's painterly language, rethinking the border between history and fiction. Metaphorical and poetic images seem to 'freeze' geographical and linear temporal formations, bringing viewers into a region where they can wander in their own reflections on the past and present in. 

Description is excerpted from "Stratum Zero" Exhibition Guide, 2023, p. 17.

The content in this room features fictional images that can be considered unpleasant for some visitors. The artist has consensual support from the parents of all minor characters. Please kindly pay attention to this notice.