THE OTHER SIDE PROJECT II – Scars
Nguyen Thi Thanh Mai
Curator:
Marija Lopac
PM Gallery
March 24 – April 10, 2016

Exhibition opening: Wednesday, March 9, 2016 at 6pm

Other Side Project is the title of the project that connects Croatian and Vietnamese contemporary art. The project started in 2015 with a guest visit from Le Brothers, a Vietnamese art collective. This year a Vietnamese artist, Nguyen Thi Thanh Mai, will present herself with the exhibition Scars. The exhibition talks about the position of children and women in Vietnam, about human rights violation, emotional, psychological, physical and sexual abuse. In general, about the position of a young, self-conscious woman, the artist. This exhibition refers to various issues of women, body, children and identity. Portraying a society in which women and children are still hurt and affected. Showing scars on the skin, but also the emotional ones. Although invisible, these scars often run much deeper. In an honest way, Nguyen Thi Thanh Mai talks about these issues and shows the intimacy of her own emotional scars.

”In my city Hue, in Vietnam, the majority of people still leads a traditional life. Women have to fit into the traditional housewife stereotype and be obedient, quiet, gentle and loyal. Sexuality is a taboo in this society. In school and at home, sexual education is very limited, which means that girls learn about their body on their own. Due to social pressure, many women have an irrational fear and discomfort about their body. Many women of my generation share the same feelings. This is another challenge for us; to openly talk about our fears and desires. In my works, I explored and confronted the struggle and oppression of the feelings I experienced.“

Nguyen Thi Thanh Mai

Works presented at the exhibition:

Invade 2013. A handmade drawing, created on the basis of the collection of specific scientific and medical documentation. By transforming them into two different forms and connecting different components of sexuality and body. Through the exploration of the process and documentation, Mai got a better knowledge of female sexual anatomy and how it changes throughout life. She carefully combined and used red ink as a symbol of suffering, fear and pain. The objective is to give a new perspective of how men see the female body.

Somewhere 2013 and 2016. Works created in different countries. Exploration of abused, exploited women and children. This work is based on identity, violence and link between the media and privacy. The identity of participants is hidden. Diseintagled shows a relationship between identity, memory and body. How our memory affects us as individuals, our body and personality. In her works, Mai explores the struggle and obsession of being misunderstood, which she herself experienced.

Marija Lopac

Biography

Nguyen Thi Thanh Mai  was born in 1983 in Born in Hanoi, Vietnam. In 2006 she Graduated from the Hue College of Arts, Vietnam and in2012 she finished MA in Visual Arts, Mahasarakham University, Thailand. Lives and works in Hue, Vietnam.

Solo Exhibitions

2015 Day by Day, Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Sao La Art space, Ho Chi Minh Fine Arts
2012 The Scar, Craig Thomas Gallery, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

Selected Art Residencies:
2015 -16 Kunstlerhaus Bethanien, Berlin, Germany (12 months)
2014 Sa Sa Art Projects, Phnom Penh, Cambodia (2 months)
Museum, Vietnam

Workshop: Sammaki art space in Battambang, Cambodia

Email: nguyenthithanhmaivn@gmail.com
Website: http://nguyenthithanhmai.tumblr.com/
Curator : Marija Lopac, www.marijalopac.com, marijalopac@hotmail.com

The exhibition is financially supported by the City Office for Culture, Education and Sports Zagreb and by The Ministry of Culture of the Republic Croatia.

 

WORKING HOURS
Wednesday to Friday 11am – 7pm
Saturday and Sunday 10am – 6pm

Mondays and holidays – closed
Dom hrvatskih likovnih umjetnika
Trg žrtava fašizma 16
10000 Zagreb