Jane Irish's 'Sông H’u’ong: Withdrawing Room' at Locks Gallery juxtaposes colonial decor with Vietnam War trauma

Jane Irish's exhibition 'Sông H’u’ong: Withdrawing Room' ran from April 5 to May 10, 2013 at Locks Gallery in Philadelphia, located at 600 Washington Square South. The show featured paintings, drawings, and ceramic vases that use decorative motifs to contrast pastoral scenes with war horrors. Irish draws inspiration from the rococo interiors of St. Malo's corsairs in France, incorporating looted Asian elements. Her egg-tempera panoramas, such as 'Sông H’u’ong' (2013), depict Vietnam's Perfume River with temples and cityscapes, creating tension between immersive and repelling viewers. In 'Yellow Room' (2012), doorways open into Asian landscapes, blending rational and irrational space. Ceramic pieces like 'Thousand Yard Stare Urn' (2012) include black-and-white images of veterans with PTSD, while a drawing titled 'Thousand Yard Stare' (2013) combines ornate interiors with activist veterans' writings. Irish's focus on Vietnam stems from her 2005 exhibition 'Operation Rapid American Withdrawal' at Philadelphia's Crane Arts Building, which united artists, veterans, and antiwar activists. The work critiques Franco-American colonial history, comparing it to David Salle's 1980s juxtapositions but with a pointed message about war profiteering.