Thao Nguyen Phan’s works draw from the rich and turbulent history of her native country, Vietnam. The exhibition at WIELS – her largest to date – includes three videos accompanied by paintings: Tropical Siesta (2017), Mute Grain (2019) and Becoming Alluvium (2019). Taking different forms and starting points, these recent projects all explore the agricultural, political and social context of the Vietnamese rurality and countryside. However, Phan’s work transgresses a purely historical or political point of view, to incorporate an interest in literature and language. Through storytelling, fiction, official and unofficial history, it subtly reveals the forgotten and the forgettable in poetic recollections.

This exhibition is a project of the Han Nefkens Foundation, in collaboration with: Fundació Joan Miró (Barcelona), WIELS (Brussels), Chisenhale Gallery (London) and Galerie Zink (Waldkirchen). On this occasion, Phan’s first monograph will be co-published by the exhibition partners, the Han Nefkens Foundation and Mousse Publishing.