Multimedia installation: steel net, dry pork’s skin, processed pork’s skin, LCD screen, video; and performance. Performance in collaboration with Psyche Lab. 

Statement

Using animated images together with a special material - bóng bì da lợn (dry pork’s skin - a popular raw material for food), this artwork acts as a medium to convey the complicated relationship between Psychology - Human - Society. This work follows the conceptual practice series earlier on, which started off with an installation that describes the mass invasion of Hydra – a coelenterate that lives in groups and has strong fertility, then followed by a performance: dry pork skin being used as the main material, which was handly ironed and soaked by water to become slimy. At the first installation, the artist recognizes that the complication of the group living actually contains the biological conservation, the fuzziness and surrealistic of life originated from folk myths that affect history and the present. As for the phase of performance, it was composed of reactions and actions that represent raw, strong, high-pressured interaction, in order to convey the obsessions and pressures inside humans, caused by the community life which is boring, has no way out and its historical aspect.

The current artwork that combines installation and performance in this exhibition*, once again, taps into the uniqueness of the material, and at the same time communicates a transformation process from fresh to dried pork skin – an important mark in the whole conceptual artistic practices. It uses approaches of Psychodrama therapy and transforms into real-time performance. This is the result of the research and practice by the artist together with the Psycho Lab group for the last 2 years, which focuses on studying the psychological notions of "Attitude", "Far right", "Awake". Under the Skin is how we explore the collision of feelings, immanence, sociality, humanity, or it is simply an action where we all "iron" the skins in the strangest mental status.

*Undefined boundaries Exhibition (03.03 - 31.03.2017) was organized by The Korean Cultural Center in Vietnam and Heritage Space.