Art Labor Collective's First Survey Outside Vietnam Opens at Para Site in Hong Kong
Established in 2015 by Thao Nguyen Phan, Truong Cong Tung, and Arlette Quynh-Anh Tran, the Vietnamese collective Art Labor delves into the impacts of colonial history through a multidisciplinary approach. They work alongside Jarai artists to examine the historical contexts of coffee and rice farming under French colonial rule. A significant moment occurred in 2019 at the Saigon Botanical Garden & Zoo, where they presented Jarai sculptures and the exhibition 'Lai (Crossbred).' Their investigations reveal the ecological repercussions of coffee commercialization after Đổi Mới and the involvement of Vietnamese Công Binh workers in rice agriculture in France during WWII. Their inaugural exhibition outside Vietnam takes place at Hong Kong's Para Site from August 16 to November 24, featuring a range of artworks. Members also pursue individual artistic paths, engaging in social practice with other collectives across Southeast Asia.
Key facts
- Art Labor was founded in 2015 by Thao Nguyen Phan, Truong Cong Tung, and Arlette Quynh-Anh Tran.
- The collective's first survey exhibition outside Vietnam runs at Para Site in Hong Kong from August 16 to November 24.
- A 2019 happening at Saigon Botanical Garden & Zoo featured Jarai artists, Robusta coffee, and hammocks, emblematic of their practice.
- Research by Art Labor covers colonial coffee agriculture in Vietnam and rice cultivation in France by Vietnamese Công Binh workers.
- Jarai cosmology inspires projects like 'Jrai Dew', with festivals in highland villages since 2017 involving wood-sculptors.
- French missionary Jacques Dournes's drawings of Jarai culture will be curated by Phan in the Para Site exhibition.
- Tung's family moved to Đắk Lắk and Gia Lai provinces for coffee and pepper plantations, experiencing land disputes and debt.
- Camargue rice in France, started by Vietnamese workers, now constitutes 75% of the country's rice production.
Entities
Artists
- Thao Nguyen Phan
- Truong Cong Tung
- Arlette Quynh-Anh Tran
- Jacques Dournes
- Rirkrit Tiravanija
Institutions
- Art Labor
- Para Site
- The Factory Contemporary Arts Centre
- Gallery Medium
- Saigon Botanical Garden & Zoo
- Taring Padi
- ruangrupa
- Jiandyin
- AX(is) Art Project
- Art Review
Locations
- Ho Chi Minh City
- Vietnam
- Hong Kong
- Central Highlands
- Đắk Lắk province
- Gia Lai province
- Camargue
- France
- Saigon Botanical Garden & Zoo
- Yogyakarta
- Indonesia
- Thailand
- Baguio
- Philippines
- Mekong River