UuDam Tran Nguyen
APT8
Born 1971, Kontum, Vietnam,
Lives and works in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
UuDam Tran Nguyen's videos reflect on contemporary life in Vietnam and the way rural and urban spaces have been transformed by dramatic economic and industrial development. On returning to Ho Chi Minh City from living in Los Angeles, he was struck by these changes, and particularly by the prevalence of motorcyclists in facemasks and protective capes, rendering them as anonymous 'knights' from a forgotten myth. Serpents' Tails 2015 is a new video work that extends from his Waltz of the Machine Equestrians – Machine Equestrians 2012, and draws attention to the toxic impact of heavy traffic in the city. It features a group of motorcycle 'equestrians', and tracks their choreographed passage through the city, accompanied by Shostakovich's Suite for Jazz Orchestra no.2, Waltz no.2.
UuDam Tran Nguyen has also worked with the QAGOMA Children's Art Centre to develop a project for APT8 Kids.
UuDam Tran Nguyen / Vietnam b.1971 / Serpents' Tails (still) 2015 / Three-channel video installation, 16:9, sound, ed. of 5 + 2 AP / This project has been supported by The Cultural Development and Exchange Fund (CDEF) of Denmark / Image courtesy and © UuDam Tran Nguyen
UuDam Tran Nguyen / Vietnam b.1971 / Serpents' Tails 2015, installed for APT8 in GOMA's Gallery 3.5, 2015 / Three-channel video installation, 16:9, sound, ed. of 5 + 2 AP / This project has been supported by The Cultural Development and Exchange Fund (CDEF) of Denmark / © UuDam Tran Nguyen / Photograph: Natasha Harth, QAGOMA
UuDam Tran Nguyen invites children to explore how technology can connect people, even over vast distances in Kids APT8, 2015 / © UuDam Tran Nguyen / Photograph: Chloë Callistemon, QAGOMA
