Fractured Times is designed as a labyrinth, with a predetermined route. Akin to the forward flow of time - unretractable, the exhibition is a winding one-way road, traversing through contemplative realms of each artist. As the psychological notion of time(s) can be elastic and distorted, the viewers here have full autonomy over their own rhythm at each ‘station’, where a spatio-temporal succession of experiences can enable various interpretations.

Throughout the conception of this inaugural exhibition, we find it necessary to reflect and find our positionality within the larger context. In this age of radical digital transformation, our fractured world once again embeds itself within the manifold of our time. Rapid growth, particularly in developing nations, has painted a fresh façade for young economies, layering on the existing cracks. The disparity between systems of value, living habits, and means of social interaction has ushered in many conundrums - where we are both nostalgic and alienated from our existing world, where we both rejoice and hesitate when pondering about the future.

Against this backdrop, The Outpost is pleased to present Fractured Times, introducing works of six artists – Hoàng Thanh Vĩnh Phong, Phan Thảo Nguyên, Lý Trần Quỳnh Giang, Nguyễn Phương Linh, Phạm Hà Ninh and Phạm Minh Hiếu. These six artists come from diverse social backgrounds, as well as generations of practitioners. Their practices illuminate different trajectories of social changes: embracing all the collisions, fluctuations, and scatterings of unique yet intertwined fragments. By no means, is this an attempt to generalise the art scene or to canonise any groups. For the act of reducing Vietnamese art into a linear, consistent, and unfragmented narrative is impossible, if not inappropriate. Instead, this exhibition is The Outpost’s prologue to a journey of discovering and cultivating hidden fragments of our contemporary landscape – one which we hope to embark upon with our community of art lovers.

Source: The Outpost Art Organisation.