Nguyen The Son Transforms a Brilliant New Space in Dao Duy Tu
KVT investigates Nha Tay and Dinh at a new museum
Dao Duy Tu Street in the old quarter has changed from a backwater street – that those in the know used to duck through to escape backpacker frenzies -into one of the old quarters most ‘with it’ neighborhoods…..and its main claim to fame is not the rhubarb red shisha establishment which looks very alluring and will allure lots of backpackers!
No! The claim to real fame is just across the street at number 50-The Old Quarter Cultural Exchanges Center which is a really modern architectural WOW statement inside and a nicely understated adornment to the Old Quarter on the outside.
More about this museum in a later post on Grapevine. Suffice, for now, to say that it’s got 3 levels.
The basement is set aside for an archeological exploration of the quarter with loads of maps from inception to post Frenchification
The third level has an engrossing display of research about the quarter’s historical eras, ending with the present roly poly of fascinating indecisive development.
But it’s the second level that is this post’s focus-a very excellent gallery set aside for temporary displays relevant to the quarter.
Nguyen The Son has a double header of photographic work on exhibit to open the space and both are excellent
The background exhibition is a rerun of The Son’s show at Manzi with a few new pieces added and as usual his 3D photographic cut out assemblages (photo releivo) are, as usual, absorbing
If you’re a nosy parker like me you have to get up close and personal (sort of like the little boys who are not content with pop up picture books until they have disassembled the most intricate page to see just how it all works.
My favorite of these ‘Tay House’ constructions ,below, is intriguing because it’s at all sorts of angles
Tay means western in Vietnamese and these western influenced buildings are not a distinctive part of the Old Quarter but are sited in areas surrounding it.
As with most Hanoi-an houses pre the American War, most had add-ons and structural changes as soon as the entrepreneurial decades burst upon the scene.
Rather than regurgitate The Son’s Nha Tay excellent explanatory text that accompanies the exhibits, here’s a part of it that could suffice
The central core of The Son’s exhibition focuses on community houses (Dinh) in the old quarter.
Using a frieze of images in a large open rectangle, the artist visually narrates his research and search of Dinh still in use
And others that have been transformed for other purposes
The official banishment and pardoning and modern flourishing of Dinh would make interesting parallel reading
This is an exhibition, and a venue,at deserves a dedicated visit
Here’s a link that includes The Son’s ultimate masterpiece (thus far) in photo relieve and his first in the genre at Goethe that made the critics sit up and what he’s got on the books at Art Vietnam with a bit of a different photographic take at Chula.