Light Installation 'Folk Paintings: The Remake"

Photo: Thành Trung/Tran Viet Duc (Vietnamnet)

Light Installation 'Folk Paintings: The Remake"

UV ink printed on silk, iron frame, thread, light bulbs
2022

Hanoi Creative Design Festival
Hang Buom Culture and Arts Center, Ha Noi
Commissioned by Viet Nam Association of Architects (VAA)

This site-specific installation features 36 lanterns adorned with Xuân-Lam's reinterpretations of folk paintings. The number "36" alludes to Hanoi's historic 36 streets in the Old Quarter, a thousand-year-old hub where folk painting once thrived. This vibrant center of trade and creativity, where merchants gathered each spring, remains both a memory and a source of inspiration.

The lanterns incorporate five colors, resonating with the five natural elements in Eastern philosophy—wood, fire, earth, metal, and water—evoking balance and harmony. The border patterns, inspired by archival floor tiles from the Hàng Buồm cultural center, hint at the interplay between past and present. This work reflects on the enduring cultural significance of these traditions and invites viewers to consider how history, art, design, and architecture converge.