Temperance Hall Front Studio Resident, Chung Nguyen, presents Fluid Memories, a work-in-progress that combines dance, video and installation. A new collaboration with visual artist James Nguyen, this work explores the reciprocal relationship between human bodies, environmental trauma and healing.

Fluid Memories examines the lasting impact of Agent Orange, the chemical herbicide deployed by the U.S. military during the Vietnam War. James and Chung's research centres on the NuFarm factory in Fawkner, Victoria, which manufactured herbicides and agricultural chemicals including Agent Orange, between 1955-1974.

Central to this work is the red scarf—an iconic socialist youth symbol—reimagined as a metaphorical umbilical cord, connecting the artist's body to Mother Earth. Chung also draws on military marching to investigate their physical language as a form of cultural expression. As queer artists from different waves of Vietnamese migration to Australia (post-war refugee and post-Đổi Mới economic), James and Chung create space for cultural dialogue and healing across separate diasporic experiences.

Please note, the audience will be invited to move between spaces and to participate in the performance if they feel comfortable.

Concept, choreography and performance: Chung Nguyen
Video and sound design: James Nguyen
Participatory engagement advisor: Gav Barbey
Duration: 40 mins. Post-show Q+A.

Chung Nguyen is a Temperance Hall Front Studio Resident for 2025.

The Front Studio Residency has been supported by the Neilson Foundation, the City of Port Phillip, the Palais Theatre Community Fund, private donors and the Australian Government through Creative Australia, its principal arts investment and advisory body.

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