Thao-Nguyen Phan
Residency period
3 January – 26 January 2017
22 February – 24 March 2017
About
Through a combination of painting, video, performance, and installation, the artistic practice of Thao-Phan Nguyen (b. 1987, Vietnam) focuses on historical events, traditional narratives, and minor gestures producing a refined imaginary that challenges common assumptions and social conventions. She has the ability to condense the manifold references to history, literature, philosophy, and theory that always frame her research into subtly poetic artworks that open up news spaces for reflection. Since 2016, she is the protégé of American artist Joan Jonas within the Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative, a programme which pairs gifted young artists with internationally recognised masters, sponsoring them to spend a year in a one-to-one mentoring relationship. Her recent exhibitions include Concept Context Contestation, Art and the Collective in South East Asia, Goethe Institut, Hanoi, Vietnam (2016); Haunted Thresholds: Spirituality in Contemporary Southeast Asia, Kunstverein Göttingen, Germany, (2014). and Tâm Tã, Hanoi Fine Arts Museum, Vietnam (2014). In 2012, she founded the collective Art Labor together with artist Truong Cong Tung and curator Arlette Quynh-Anh Tran Phan.
Focus
Thao-Nguyen Phan will expand her research on the introduction of the Latin alphabet as a writing system in Vietnam, exploring how the same transition occurred in other Southeast Asian countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines. In Vietnam, the Romanised script was first introduced in the 17th century by catholic missionaries to spread Christianity, playing a significant role in the process of colonization of the country. While official accounts celebrate the adoption of the Latin alphabet as a symbol of modernity, the implications of this historical process are far more complex and tell stories of cultural loss and gain, national amnesia, and violence.
Public programmes

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Residencies OPEN offers a rare insight into the often introverted sphere of the artists’ studio. Through showcasing discussions, performances, research and works-in-progress, Residencies OPEN profiles the diversity of contemporary art practice and the divergent ways artists conceive artwork with the studio as a constant space for experimentation and research.
This edition of Residencies OPEN features book-related projects, video works as well as research materials and works-in-progress from Heman Chong (Singapore), Ho Rui An (Singapore), siren eun young jung (South Korea), Alice Miceli (Brazil), Thao-Nguyen Phan (Vietnam), and Jason Wee (Singapore).
Heman Chong, Block 38 Malan Road, Studio #01-07
Ho Rui An, Block 37 Malan Road, Studio #01-03
siren eun young jung, Block 38 Malan Road, Studio #01-05
Alice Miceli, Block 38 Malan Road, Studio #01-06
Thao-Nguyen Phan, Block 37 Malan Road, Studio #01-04
Jason Wee, Block 37 Malan Road, #01-01