Introduction
Life is very complicated.
Sometimes I’ve thought about the differences between humans and other species. As a result, I have to retreat into a garden to regain my energy.
Once I ask a question that’s too big, I feel even smaller and more ridiculous in this flow of time.
There have been a few events: I gazed at the stars while lying on an ox cart; another time, I walked about 40 km at night; yet another time, I encountered a school of flying fish over the sea at dawn; and I napped around a flock of peacocks. These grand scenes and magnificent experiences have made me realize that nature holds wonders that no words can describe.
Among the countless religions, beliefs, and doctrines, seems too complex for me. My intellect seems insufficient to comprehend them, and I am surrounded by so much misguided religious beliefs on social media.
The only thing that held me back was the moment I slept on a park bench at the Saigon Zoo with a few peacocks beside me. I slept soundly.
Look into the peacock’s eyes, look at how the winged fish flies above the water, a monkey caresses its young, etc. The universe is truly magical and full of love. I can’t ask any other questions.
When I learned to love, I read more about ecologists and their experiences with other animals, and that’s when I learned more about wisdom. Love and wisdom go hand in hand, like a source of energy and light that dispels resentment and materialistic desires in the city. Sometimes, because I miss nature so much, I cry like a child, and I realize that art is a means for me to embark on a real journey to touch nature, to tell you about the miracles of nature, but it is you who will embark on a connection with nature to discover the magic of this life.
Body – Soul – Wisdom.
This visual essay isn’t entirely accurate, but what I want to convey is how we orient our lives as human beings and how we broaden our perspective on nature on this planet. We cannot live solely by intellect, solely by the body, or solely by the soul. When the connection between body, mind, and spirit is established, it allows you to access the energy of nature—the energy of the sun, moon, and stars; the vibrant energy that animals possess; and the tender, compassionate energy of plants.
CHILAB- HEALING SPACE (2025)
Based on scientific research related to the criteria of living space (Experience of area, smell, color, sound, natural scenery, etc.) affecting the mental health of people living in urban areas, combined with high work pressure, leading to increasingly serious mental health problems. I tested this project through the incarnation of myself (Self-portrait) to simulate scientific research. However, over time (2021-2025). I expanded the issue that: The mental health of the generation tends to get worse, is it due to the impact of living space and pressure?
Does changing the living space to better criteria help improve the psychological state? From the above two questions, I turned back to compare with the artifacts in the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology (artifacts crystallized from the creations of the hands, minds, and spirits of the ancients). Through the experiment of photographic techniques, I compare the different timelines that I pursue. Compare the image I describe of the spatial impacts with the unique cultural and spiritual products that the ancients created for their real lives.
I want to use photography as a medium that has the ability to evoke and reflect, to think about other possibilities that can help us improve our mental health through our own inner selves. For example, asking the question: What are we connected to in the reality of life? What have we created as individuals? And what have we created collectively? With the materials around us and our skills (modern people), how have we used our intelligence to make life more vibrant?
CHILAB- KEEP (2023-2025)
The project is an exploration of the anxiety of young Vietnamese people in the face of the modern world. At the same time, it is an opportunity for these modern thoughts to be compared with the unique cultural heritage of the Vietnamese people (porcelain mosaic in ancient royal tombs). I want to evoke the individual thoughts of each viewer:
– Are our young generation stuck in the digital algorithms of social networks that take up most of their time every day?
– The ancient generation took advantage of their time, using their hands with this porcelain mosaic technique to create masterpieces from tens of thousands of pieces of porcelain, ceramic, and colored glass, creating sophisticated patterns like a set of paintings. Does this show the limitation in the skills of creating value from real materials of modern people?
– How should civilization and creativity be viewed?
Through the technique of interweaving the (traditional-modern)-experimental timeline that I call ChiLab, the characters will answer a special questionnaire that I compiled (taking advantage of the intersection between traditional Vietnamese culture and contemporary culture, thereby revealing the intersection between the unconscious, subconscious, and conscious world of the characters, and my own unconscious, subconsciou,s and conscious world). Next, I will form concepts by visualizing these answers through photography to reveal the inner world of what they care about in contemporary life.
Finally, compare with mosaics from broken porcelain pieces of ancient Vietnamese artisans.
Thank you so much!
