Description

Stratum Zero displays a wide range of works by Vietnamese artists in The Outpost Collection. The exhibition attends to the analysis of the aesthetic context and construction of the contemporary Vietnamese spirit and artistic landscape evoked from the works. That analysis and construction is expressed through the practice of processing and restructuring the material language, through marking the enduring flow of Asian folklore and philosophy, as well as hidden, peripheral historical perspectives.

Borrowing the meaning of "stratum" in Geology to create spatial visualisation in temporal sediments, Stratum Zero serves as a mark for the starting point, from which it can spread to other stratum to capture an overall structure. The use of Stratum Zero as the title of this exhibition also retains those meanings, as we (The Outpost) locate ourselves within the local art scene, starting with the desire to explore and unearth what is by all means available, yet still remain obscure.

[1] In Stratigraphy, stratum is the layers of rock or sediment stacked on top of each other that form the Earth's crust. When a seismic event occurs, the strata deform: fold, fracture, collapse, compress, and accretion, creating a new appearance of the stratigraphic cross-section.

[2] The number 0 exhibits something of a dual nature: a real number but at the same time carries the meaning of nothingness, emptiness, and the void. But the existence of the number 0 serves as the identity element that defines the true value of the others.

The exhibition is produced by The Outpost's Curatorial Team. 

Description is excerpted from "Stratum Zero" Exhibition Guide, 2023, p. 2.