Mother Dearest 

Dreams are the stories we tell ourselves of what could be, who we could become. One might dream of residence in the past yet it is only referential, amidst the chaos of current times. When that is recognized in oneself, what is there left for us to connect with?

Impressions of pain and power, felt by its inhabitants, formed under the sense of disembowelment, comical urgency and rapid nonsensical growth in the local landscape reflect upon the quotidian bodily expressions subconsciously. In this, “the dreamed ones” emerge from a “dreamscape” of consciously amassed, and richly saturated assortment of fabrics, or untouched, pre-existing tableaus, reciting dreams that closely relate to reality, as they carry out seemingly trivial acts of comfort - whether it is brushing hair, talking shit, pacing, or dreaming. The real and the “fake” is intertwined - theatrical, staged, ‘fake’ (moving) images lay among the candid, social-media - originating ones. They are proof of dramatic events and suffering in global crisis zones, as well as in local governmental reports. 

Window steel frames and copper roofing panels embracing videos and photographs suggest Hanoi’s facades or hastily built homes, yet move and glimmer like a mirage. I attempt to capture this strangeness in local changes of landscapes and morales in a more personal language, a nod to how dreaming has now become second nature to the Vietnamese people.