Kunsthal Charlottenborg

Thao Nguyen Phan

Reincarnations of Shadows

13 Mar - 11 Aug 2024

Thao Nguyen Phan, Dream of March and August, 2018 – ongoing. Installation view at Kunsthal Charlottenborg, Copenhagen, 2024. Courtesy the artist; Galerie Zink Waldkirchen and Kunsthal Charlottenborg, Copenhagen. Photo by David Stjernholm.
Thao Nguyen Phan, Mute Grain, 2019. Installation view at Kunsthal Charlottenborg, Copenhagen, 2024. Commissioned by Sharjah Art Foundation with additional support from Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative. Courtesy the artist and Kunsthal Charlottenborg, Copenhagen. Photo by David Stjernholm.
Thao Nguyen Phan, No Jute Cloth for the Bones, 2019 – ongoing. Installation view at Kunsthal Charlottenborg, Copenhagen, 2024. Courtesy the artist and Kunsthal Charlottenborg, Copenhagen. Photo by David Stjernholm.
Thao Nguyen Phan, ‘Reincarnations of Shadows’, exhibition view at Kunsthal Charlottenborg, Copenhagen, 2024. Courtesy the artist and Kunsthal Charlottenborg, Copenhagen. Photo by David Stjernholm.
Thao Nguyen Phan, Perpetual Brightness, 2019 – ongoing. In collaboration with Truong Cong Tung. Installation view at Kunsthal Charlottenborg, Copenhagen, 2024. Courtesy the artist; Galerie Zink Waldkirchen and Kunsthal Charlottenborg, Copenhagen. Photo by David Stjernholm.
Thao Nguyen Phan, Voyages de Rhodes, 2014-2017. Installation view at Kunsthal Charlottenborg, Copenhagen, 2024. Courtesy the artist and Kunsthal Charlottenborg, Copenhagen. Photo by David Stjernholm.
The internationally renowned artist intertwines mythology and folklore from her homeland’s turbulent past with current pressing issues of excessive consumption and the destruction of the earth’s resources. The intersection between the documentary and the supernatural take centre stage in this exhibition, which evokes ghostly presences, lush landscapes and unofficial narratives.

Thao Nguyen Phan’s spiritual moving image works revolve around the interaction between people, architecture and nature in Vietnam and the broader Mekong region, which has been plagued by natural as well as manmade tragedies throughout history and still to this day is characterized by the legacy of colonialism, ongoing industrialization and increasing climate change.

The exhibition in Kunsthal Charlottenborg’s north wing introduces a deep layering of audio, visual and tactile references. Through more than 100 works from the past 10 years, the exhibition will unfold the artist’s captivating imagery through poetic film installations, meticulously executed lacquer paintings, light sculptures, delicate watercolours and architectural interventions.

Thao Nguyen Phan (b. 1987, Ho Chi Minh City; lives and works in Ho Chi Minh City) has latest exhibited in solo and group exhibitions in international institutions including Pirelli HangarBicocca (2023), 59. Venice Art Biennale (2022), Tate St Ives (2022). In 2016-17, she was included among the Protegée Rolex, accompanied by Joan Jonas as a mentor, among the most recognized living artists and performers, and won the Han Nefkens Foundation – LOOP Barcelona Video Art Award 2018. In addition, she is co-founder of the Art Labor collective in Ho Chi Minh City, which explores interdisciplinary practices and develops art projects to benefit the local Vietnamese community.

The exhibition is curated by Henriette Bretton-Meyer, presented in collaboration with CPH:DOX and organised by Pirelli HangarBicocca in Milan in collaboration with Kunsthal Charlottenborg.
 

Tags: Joan Jonas, Thao Nguyen Phan