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Tuan Andrew Nguyen Unveils Permanent Sculpture at Princeton, Explores War Legacy Through UXO Art

artist · 2026-04-19

In late October, Tuan Andrew Nguyen, a Vietnamese American artist, will debut his inaugural permanent public sculpture, Naga (2025), at the Princeton University Art Museum in New Jersey. This mobile, crafted from unexploded ordnance (UXO) from the Vietnam War, will be suspended in a gallery with double height. Nguyen delves into themes surrounding reincarnation and the enduring impact of the conflict. Since 1975, UXO has resulted in over 40,000 fatalities and 60,000 injuries, with around 20% of Vietnam's territory still affected. His 2022 film, The Unburied Sounds of a Troubled Horizon, features a character who believes she is Alexander Calder's reincarnation. Nguyen's research involved accompanying NGOs on demining efforts, chronicled in The Sounds of Cannons (2021). The project was supported by the Fowler McCormick, Class of 1921, Fund.

Key facts

  • Tuan Andrew Nguyen's first permanent public sculpture, Naga (2025), unveils in late October at Princeton University Art Museum
  • Sculpture is a Calder-esque mobile made from unexploded ordnance (UXO) leftover from the Vietnam War
  • Roughly 20% of Vietnam's land is still littered with UXO, causing over 40,000 deaths and 60,000 injuries since 1975
  • Nguyen's film The Unburied Sounds of a Troubled Horizon (2022) features a protagonist who believes she is Alexander Calder's reincarnation
  • Film character Lai is based on a real amputee who works at the Quảng Trị Mine Action Center
  • Nguyen documented demining missions in The Sounds of Cannons, Familiar Like Sad Refrains (2021) with US Navy Seventh Fleet archival footage
  • Nguyen is developing his first feature film, expanding on The Specter of Ancestors Becoming (2019)
  • He returned to Vietnam two decades ago after graduate school, describing it as an emotional and political act

Entities

Artists

  • Tuan Andrew Nguyen
  • Alexander Calder

Institutions

  • Princeton University Art Museum
  • ArtAsiaPacific
  • Quảng Trị Mine Action Center
  • US Navy Seventh Fleet
  • Fowler McCormick, Class of 1921, Fund

Locations

  • Princeton
  • New Jersey
  • United States
  • Los Angeles
  • California
  • Ho Chi Minh City
  • Vietnam
  • Quảng Trị province

Sources