Vietnamese pioneer performance artist, Tran Luong, continues to attract huge interest abroad. His video, Lập Lòe/Welts, is currently being shown at White Chapel in London (UK) as part of Artists’ Film International: Spring 2015.
Part of the three-video-channel installation by the Hanoian artist has been selected as one of the works – the others being Panic by Russian-born Anatoly Shuravlev and Road to Arguvan by Vahap Avşar – for this season’s film program which explores the theme of conflict.
Tran began working on Lập Lòe in 2007 (and completed it in 2012) almost accidentally when he saw his then 10-year-old son returning from school wearing a red scarf (khăn quàng đỏ).
This common and simple garment is associated to the history of the Communist Party in Vietnam, China, North Korea and Cuba. As explained in the book Vietnam's Political Process: How Education Shapes Political Decision Making, young children (aged between 7 and 16) wearing the red scarf are members of the Ho Chi Minh Young Pioneer Organisation (an essential requirement for later joining the Ho Chi Minh Youth Union) who pledge to follow Ho Chi Minh’s five teachings. To this day, schools regularly check if students are wearing this garment and those who forgot or lost them are scolded.
However, for Tran, the red cloth also has a sentimental value as he stated in an interview during the Guggenheim UBS MAP Exhibition, “he [his son] looked a lot like me when I was small.” This image brought to the surface memories of the artist’s childhood when children were fighting with the scarf during recess since they did not have any toys during the American War.
The khăn quàng đỏ used in the installation. Photo courtesy of the Guggenheim.
In Lập Lòe, we see the naked torso of the artist first being whipped with the scarf, followed by three evocative shots of the same scarf falling from the sky. With these images the artist wants to convey the struggles that Vietnam has endured throughout its modern history.
The connection between the individual and the country, the personal and the collective, take on a broader meaning in Welts. Tran has staged public performances in which he invited members of the audience to hit him with the scarf, creating a stronger connection between the artist and the millions of people that have their own personal association with this symbolic garment.
Although trained as a painter in a traditional and canonical art school (École des Beaux-Arts Hanoi), Tran Luong was one of the founding members of the underground artist group the Gang of Five. His art is strongly informed by political and historical themes filtered through the collective memory. His curatorial work includes the foundation of Nhasan Studio and the group exhibition Tam Ta (Pouring) at San Art (HCMC) and at Bui Gallery (Hanoi).
In 2014, he was the recipient of the Prince Claus Award for his contributions and achievements within the arts in Vietnam.
Artists’ Film International is a collaborative project established by the Whitechapel Gallery, displaying film, video and animation pieces from around the world.
Whitechapel Gallery Exterior, detail. Photography by Gavin Jackson @ Arcaid - image courtesy of Whitechapel Gallery.
In collaboration with 14 global partner organisations, the programme brings together works that are presented over the course of one year in each venue. Tran Luong’s video was presented by Hanoi DOCLAB.
Artists’ Film International will run until the 14th of July
Whitechapel Gallery, 77-82 Whitechapel High Street, London, E1 7QX (UK)
