EXHIBITION OPENINGS: Jahan Xanlü, Kalinda Vary, Phuong Nguyen Le (Nhớ Nguồn / Remember Spring) - Trocadero Projects

Join us from 6 till 8pm this Wednesday 10 July, to celebrate the opening of The Storm by Jahan Xanlü; Trying to listen by Kalinda Vary; and Nhớ Nguồn / Remember Spring, curated by Phuong Nguyen Le, featuring the works of Thuy Vy, Trinh Dang and Minh-An Pham.

Event Information

• Parking is available in central Footscray and the Little Saigon Plaza Car Park.
• Trocadero Projects is a 2 minute walk away from Footscray Train Station, and a 1 minute walk away from Stop #63 on the 82 tram line.
• Wheelchair accessible and gender-neutral toilet facilities available.

THE STORM

The Storm is an exploration of modern urban and industrial devastation through a post-industrial interpretation of the ancient Mesopotamian ‘City Lament’ poetry style. It contrasts between the mass urban destruction that was experienced by the very first urban pioneers, and an impeding contemporary one.

The Storm uses a series of found industrial objects, familiar to the viewer, and places through an extreme retro-futuristic setting with distinct ancient Sumerian and Babylonian inscriptions and practices. The Storm takes its name as reference to the Laments for Nippur and Uruk, who had both been destroyed by (figurative and/or literal) storms.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Jahan Xanlü is a Swiss-Iranian multidisciplinary writer and musician, currently based in Naarm, so-called Australia. His practice-led research focuses on exploring ancient traditions and mythologies, merging them with modern contexts to dream of dynamic futures that engage with the degrading realities of the present.  Building on his past work in linguistics research and photo-journalism, he particularly focuses on language and aesthetic and the role it plays in such traditions.

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TRYING TO LISTEN 

Trying to listen is a series of works completed while on a residency at Yellow Brick in Athens, Greece. This series was devised through distance, language, windows and gouache. Trying to listen began with an angsty question that sometimes comes up in my counselling practice: when when someone is describing their world, their pain, their view – how do I (the listener) decipher this? How can you know you understand this world accurately?

The paintings in this show are formulated by asking people in my life to describe their immediate view -– in one minute. Afterwards, I write what I can recall from their description, and later still, I turn that notation into a painting. Included in the paintings are the misheard and forgotten bits, the unpaintable bits and, miraculously, sometimes, the uncanny alignment of view and description.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Kalinda Vary is an artist who currently lives and works in Narrm. Kalinda is working across mediums, including performance and painting, in an attempt to capture the relational aspects between people. Increasingly, Kalinda’s practice is influenced by her work as a trauma counsellor. Previously, Kalinda has had solo exhibitions with Kings ARI; TCB art inc; Yellow Brick (Athens) and with Bus. Kalinda was a member of the Band Presents (2017-2019) and was a board member of TCB gallery (2015-2020)

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NHỚ NGUỒN / REMEMBER SPRING 

Responding to the Vietnamese proverb ‘Uống nước Nhớ nguồn’ (Drink water, Remember spring), artists Thuy Vy, Trinh Dang, and Minh-An Phạm offer glimpses into their trips back to Vietnam amidst states of transition. Through expanded uses of photography, they navigate the interplay of unfamiliarity and familiarity, celebrate family life, grapple with grief, and contemplate the loss of distant loved ones. The exhibition considers how transportation of images—albeit in film negatives, memory cards, or mobile phones—parallels the movement of bodies between lands, and can reshape migrant communities’ experiences upon the shifting landscape of memories.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Thuy Vy is an artist who works in film, documentary, fashion, commercials, and music videos. His works explore the human condition and seek to tell stories with sensitivity and empathy.

Trinh Dang is a Naarm-based multidisciplinary artist. Trinh gathers mixed mediums and photographic practices to display socio-cultural themes in understanding her heritage as a second generation Vietnamese-Australian.

Minh-An Pham is a Vietnamese artist from Sai Gon, currently living and studying in Australia. His photography practice revolves around themes of family, queer love, and the delicate relationship between dream and reality.

Phuong Nguyen Le is an emerging Vietnamese artist studying in Naarm, working in photography, publication, and curation.

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Banner Image: Jahan Xanlü

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Trocadero Projects is supported by the City of Maribyrnong.

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Acknowledgement of Country

Trocadero operates on the traditional lands of the Boon Wurrung and Woi Wurrung people of the Kulin Nation. We offer our respects to Elders past and present, and acknowledge that sovereignty was never ceded. Always was, always will be Aboriginal land.