Press release -
Mien Meo Mieng / Contemporary Art from Vietnam
This summer's big exhibition at Bildmuseet is the most comprehensive presentations to date of Vietnamese art in Sweden. It fills Bildmuseet with sculpture, video, painting, drawing and installation and has been produced in collaboration with Tran Loung, one of Vietnam's most prominent curators.
Welcome to the press preview on Thursday, 11 June at 10:00
Image above: Nguyen Trinh Thi, Unsubtitled, 2014. Courtesy of the artist.
Mien Meo Mieng translates as 'The land of distortion'. Caution, consideration and contortion are required in order to express one's opinion in Vietnamese society, a reality with origins in the country's history. A serious and critical message is often hidden behind a seemingly innocent and sometimes humorous statement.
The Vietnamese saying "Roll your tongue seven times before speaking” is the thematic origin ofthe exhibition which includes sculpture, video, painting, drawing and installation by 14 artists active in their homeland. Most of the works were created during the past two years and some especially for this exhibition. The works concern such topics as the aftermath of war, freedom of expression, economic conditions, migration and the general vulnerability of the Vietnamese society.
Participating artists are Bang Nhat Linh, Nguyen Huy An, Nguyen Manh Hung, Nguyen Phuong Linh, Nguyen The Son, Nguyen Tran Nam, Nguyen Trinh Thi Nguyen Uu Dam, Pham Tran Viet Nam, Tran Thi Kim Ngoc, Tran Tuan, Trieu Minh Hai, Truong Cong Tung and Vu Hong Ninh. This exhibition presents their works for the first time in Sweden.
The exhibition is produced by Bildmuseet and organised by Hanoi-based Curator Tran Luong and assistant Curator Le Thuan Uyen. A richly illustrated catalogue is under production.
Mien Meo Mieng / Contemporary Art from Vietnam opens on Sunday, June 14th at 14:00 and stays open until 1 November. In conjunction with the exhibition a comprehensive program of artist presentations, lectures, guided tours, films, workshop and educational programs will be held during September and October.
Press preview on Thursday, 11 June at 10:00
Museum Director Katarina Pierre and Curator Brita Täljedal greet welcome and provide an introduction to the exhibition. Artists Nguyen The Son, Nguyen Trinh Thi, Pham Tran Viet Nam, Tran Thi Kim Ngoc, Minh Trieu Hai and Vu Hong Ninh will be present as well as Curator Tran Luong and Assistant Curator Thuan Le Uyen.
RSVP by e-mail to Helena Vejbrink, Communications officer at Bildmuseet.
For further information about the exhibition, please contact
Brita Täljedal, Curator Bildmuseet
brita.taljedal@bildmuseet.umu.se
+46 90 786 7714
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Bildmuseet exhibits contemporary international art, photography, architecture, design and other forms of visual culture. Existential, political and philosophical issues are key to the programme. Bildmuseet received a Special Commendation from the European Museum of the Year jury last year, and was one of the top candidates för the Swedish Museum of the Year Award as well as for the Council of Europe Museum Prize.
Bildmuseet is a part of Umeå University. It is housed in an acclaimed building at the Umeå Arts Campus, right next to the Umeå Academy of Fine Arts, Umeå Institute of Design, Umeå School of Architecture and Humlab-X. Umeå university is a multifaced university where studies and research within the creative realm make up an important part of the universty's cornerstone. It is one of Sweden's largest institutions of higher learning with over 32,000 students and 4,200 employees.
