Le Brothers - Other side project

Le Brothers - Thanh Le Ngoc i Hai Le Duc

Le Brothers - Thanh Le Ngoc and Hai Le Duc

Rođeni su 1975. godine u Vijetnamu. Žive i rade u Hueu u Vijetnamu. Diplomirali su na umjetničkoj akademiji u Hueu 2000. godine. Vlasnici su i voditelji umjetničke rezidencije New Space Arts Foundation.

Izbor izložbi - video instalacija - performansa: 2015. Palais de Tokyo, Pariz – Secret Archipelago – video “Game“. Malay Heritage 2014. Singapur ‘’Into the sea’’, ‘’Into the Sea’’ – Singapurski bijenale, 2013.’’The bridge II’’, ‘’ Before ‘86.’’, DMZ Korea 2012. ‘’The Glimmer That We See’’- freeS Art Space, Taipei, Taiwan. ‘’Freedom is the Moto’’, Long Beach, SAD. “Red Project” instalacija u Galeriji Observatory, Ho Chi Minh, Vijetnam 2014., “ Into The Sea” FreeS Art Space , Taipei, Taiwan. The number 2012. New Space Art Foundation galerije Hue, Vietnam.’’Into the Sea’’, Zero Station, Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam, 2011.

Born in 1975 in Vietnam. They live and work in Hue in Vietnam. They graduated from the Hue College of Arts in Vietnam in 2000. They are owners and managers of New Space Arts Foundation residency program.

Selection of exhibitions - video installations - performances: 2015 Palais de Tokyo, Paris – Secret Archipelago – “Game“ video. Malay Heritage 2014 Singapore ‘’Into the Sea’’, ‘’Into the Sea’’ – Singapore Biennial, 2013 ‘’The Bridge II’’, ‘’ Before ‘86’’, DMZ Korea 2012. ‘’The Glimmer That We See’’- freeS Art Space, Taipei, Taiwan. ‘’Freedom is the Motto’’, Long Beach, USA.“ Red Project” installation in the Observatory Gallery, Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam 2014, “ Into The Sea” FreeS Art Space , Taipei, Taiwan. The number 2012. New Space Art Foundation of Hue Gallery, Vietnam. ‘’Into the Sea’’, Zero Station, Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam, 2011.

Le Brothers OTHER SIDE PROJECT Otvorenje izložbe - 20. svibnja 2015. u 19:00 sati | Opening of the exhibition - 20th of May at 7:00 pm Tribina - 20. svibnja 2015. u 19:30 sati | Artist talk - 2oth of May at 7:30 pm Galerija Prsten | 20. svibnja - 07. lipnja 2015. | Prsten Gallery | May 20th - 07th of June, 2015

Kontakt / Contact Marija Lopac www.marijalopac.com Štoosova 13, 10000 Zagreb 098 943 5 450

Le Brothers - Thanh Le Ngoc and Hai Le Duc www.newspacearts.com thanhaiart@gmail.com 11/66 Le Loi, Hue City, Thua Thien Hue, Vietnam

Hrvatsko društvo likovnih umjetnika | Croatian Association of Fine Artists Galerija Prsten | Prsten Gallery Trg žrtava fašizma 16, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia | www.hdlu.hr Radno vrijeme: Srijeda – petak 11 do 19, subota i nedjelja 10 do 18. Ponedjeljkom, utorkom i blagdanom - zatvoreno.

Working hours: Wednesday to Friday 11am – 7pm, Saturday and Sunday 10am – 6pm. Monday, Tuesday and holidays - closed

IMPRESSUM Nakladnik/Publisher: Hrvatsko društvo likovnih umjetnika/Croatian Association of Artists, Trg žrtava fašizma 16, 10 000 Zagreb, hdlu@hdlu.hr, www.hdlu.hr | Za nakladnika/For the publisher: Josip Zanki | Upravni odbor HDLU/Executive board of HDLU: Josip Zanki (predsjednik/president), Tomislav Buntak (zamjenik predsjednika/vicepresident), Fedor Vučemilović (zamjenik predsjednika/vicepresident), Ida Blažičko, Ivan Fijolić, Koraljka Kovač Dugandžić, Anita Kuharić Smrekar | Umjetnički savjet HDLU/Artistic board of HDLU: Tomislav Buntak, Leonida Kovač, Suzana Marjanić, Ivica Župan, Koraljka Kovač Dugandžić, Ivan Fijolić, Josip Zanki | Ravnateljica/Director: Ivana Andabaka | Stručna suradnica/Associate: Mia Orsag | Predgovor/Preface: Marija Lopac | Grafičko oblikovanje kataloga/Catalogue Design: Duje Medić | Prijevod/Translation: Zana Šaškin | Tisak/Printed by: Cerovski | Naklada/Copies: 150 Izložba je realizirana uz financijsku potporu Gradskog ureda za kulturu, obrazovanje i sport Grada Zagreba / The exhibition is financially supported by the City Office for Culture, Education and Sports Zagreb.

Other side je naziv projekta povezivanja hrvatske kulture i Vijetnama, predstavljanja vijetnamskih umjetnika u Hrvatskoj te izložbe hrvatskih umjetnika u Vijetnamu – predviđene za prosinac 2015. godine.

Other side is the title of the project that connects Croatian culture and Vietnam, presents Vietnamese artists in Croatia and exhibits Croatian artists in Vietnam – exhibition planned for December 2015.

Predstavljamo Vam izložbu vijetnamskih umjetnika Le Brothers, Thanh Le Ngoc i Hai Le Duc, pod nazivom Other side project.

We present You an exhibition of Vietnamese artists Le Brothers, Thanh Le Ngoc and Hai Le Duc, titled Other side project.

Pitanja koja se postavljaju i kojima se bavimo ovom izložbom su: kako zaokupiti um, što učiniti sa sjećanjem, uspomenama, kako ih prevladati, prihvatiti?

Vijetnamsku umjetnost predstavlja kolektiv Le Brothers koji se, nakon zajedničke izložbe u Palais de Tokyo u Parizu u ožujku 2015. godine (Secret Archipelago), u galeriji Prsten predstavlja svojom prvom samostalnom izložbom u Europi – Red Project.

Questions that this exhibition raises and deals with are: how to occupy the mind, what to do with memory, memories, how to overcome and accept them?

Vietnamese art is represented by Le Brothers who, after a group exhibition in Palais de Tokyo in Paris in March 2015 (Secret Archipelago) are now having their first solo exhibition in Europe – Red Project, in Prsten Gallery.

Thanh Le Ngoc i Hai Le Duc (Le Brothers) – rođeni 1975. godine, primijećeni prvo kao umjetnici vijetnamskog stila

Thanh Le Ngoc and Hai Le Duc (Le Brothers) – born in 1975, first noticed as the artists of Vietnamese lacquer painting of war topics. Their works speak of the issue of Southern and

laques slikarstva ratnih tema. Njihovi radovi govore o problemu Južnog i Sjevernog Vijetnama. Istraživanje njihovog osobnog izgleda (blizanci), stvaranje metafore ogledala te uspoređivanje sa zemljom koja je dugo bila razjedinjena.

Nakon slikarstva, umjetnici su počeli izvoditi performanse i stvarati video radove naglašavajući metaforu sličnosti. U svojem videu prikazuju svakodnevni život stanovnika Vijetnama, zaboravljene krajolike i nepoznate činjenice.

Izabrani video radovi: „Into the sea“, „Bridge“ i „Red Project“ po kojem je izložba i nazvana.

Simbolika crvene boje govori o simbolici rata, stradanja, komunizma, ali i ljubavi. Hrvatska i Vijetnam, dvije na prvi pogled vrlo različite zemlje, su zapravo vrlo slične. Obje ogrnute u komunizam, Hrvatska u prošlosti, Vijetnam još i sada. Poveznica su i ratno stradanje, bol, tuga, vjerovanje u bolju budućnost... Sada s odmakom gledamo na ratnu prošlost, ali uspomene ostaju, trebamo samo znati kako ih interpretirati. Le Brothers se u svojoj umjetnosti bave upravo time. Prevladavanjem ratnih strahota, ratnog komunizma i trudom u stvaranju bolje sadašnjosti. Metaforičko prikazivanje njih samih kao fizički istih te povezivanje na probleme razjedinjenosti i stradavanja. Želja za povezivanjem, unaprjeđivanjem.

Citirano iz kataloga – Thanh Le Ngoc : „Godina našeg rođenja 1975. bila je godina suza, godina prestanka rata. Mnoštvo ljudi je poginulo, siromaštvo, tuga. Ta su sjećanja duboko utkana u našu dušu i ona su u svakom našem pogledu i radu.

Sjećamo se svih onih potlačenih, tužnih i obeshrabrenih Vijetnamaca koji su proživjeli strahote rata. Razmišljam što će moja kći misliti o našoj povijesti, kako će ona promatrati povijesnu 1975. godinu, ili današnje doba, bez dostojnog poimanja povijesti, odati poštovanje stradalima. Pitam se kako pozitivno gledati na budućnost.“

Northern Vietnam. The research of their own appearance (twins), creating a metaphor of mirror and comparison with the country that was disunited for a long time. After painting, the artists started creating performances and video works highlighting the metaphor of similarity. In their video they show the everyday life of Vietnamese citizens, forgotten landscapes and unknown facts.

Selected video works: “Into the Sea“, “Bridge“ and “Red Project“ after which the exhibition was named. The symbolism of the colour red speaks of the symbolism of war, suffering, communism, but also love. Croatia and Vietnam, two seemingly very different countries are actually very similar.

Both draped in communism, Croatia in the past, Vietnam even nowadays. What connects them is war suffering, pain, sadness, belief in a better future...Now we look at the war past with hindsight, but memories remain, we only have to know how to interpret them. This is precisely what Le Brothers deal with in their work. Overcoming the horrors of war, war communism and effort in creating a better present. Metaphorical representation of themselves as physically equal and referring to the issues of disunity and suffering. The desire for connecting, improving.

Quoted from the catalogue – Thanh Le Ngoc : „The year of our birth, 1975, was the year of tears, the year when war ended. Many people died, poverty, sadness. Those memories are deeply woven into our soul and they are present in our perspective and work. We remember all those oppressed, sad and discouraged Vietnamese who lived through the horrors of war. I think about what my daughter will think about our history, how she will see the historical year of 1975, or the present, without a decent understanding of history, pay respect to the victims. I wonder how to have a positive outlook on the future.“

Red Project

Red Project

U ovom je videu intervjuirano šest stanovnika grada Huea, umjetnika, znanstvenika, pjesnika i pisaca. Isto je pitanje upućeno svakome od njih: “Koji osjećaj u vama pobuđuje crvena boja? Na što vas podsjeća? Simbolika?” Primili smo nekoliko različitih mišljenja i opise o njihovom dojmu.

Le Brothers - rođeni u komunističkoj obitelji 1975. godine.

Odgojeni u duhu komunizma. Tako je crvena boja postala dio njihovog tijela i duše. Ona odražava misli ne samo njih nego i mlađe generacije Vijetnama.

Six residents of Hue City, artists, scientists, poets and writers, were interviewed in this video. They were all asked the same question: “What feeling does the colour red evoke in you? What does it remind you of? Symbolism?“ We have received several different opinions and descriptions of their impressions.

Le Brothers – born in a communist family in 1975. Raised in the spirit of communism. So the colour red became part of their body and soul. It does not reflect only their thoughts, but also the thoughts of the younger generation of Vietnam.

Into the Sea Into the Sea – prema moru - priča je koja povezuje prošlost, sadašnjost i budućnost Le Brothersa. U filmu, dva su brata na putu traženja jedan drugog, potrage za svojom domovinom i vlastitog ega. Umjesto prepričavanja priče, video je mješoviti slijed stvarnih i izmišljenih detalja, koji su metafore metafora. Kroz priču želimo postaviti pitanje publici o smislu odvajanja i ujedinjenja, koji su dva najvažnija čimbenika ljudskog bića.

Into the Sea je video koji poziva publiku da interpretira poruku na svoj način. Tu je neograničena sloboda u sagledavanju, interpretiranju. Realna situacija rat - borba Sjevera i Juga Vijetnama, komunizam, odvajanje obitelji i prijatelja, bolni tre-

Into the Sea Into the Sea – is the story connecting the past, present and future of Le Brothers. In the video, two brothers are in the quest of each other, of their homeland and their own egos.

Instead of retelling the story, the video is a mixed sequence of real and made up details, which are metaphors of metaphors. Through the story, we want to ask the audience about the meaning of separation and unification, which are the two most important factors of human being.

Into the Sea is a video that invites the audience to interpret the message in their own way. There is an unlimited freedom in understanding, interpreting. The real situation, war – fight

nutci, ali i ponovno spajanje, vjerovanje u bolju budućnost.

Ovaj hvaljeni video bio je predstavljen na Singapurskom bijenalu 2013. godine.

between the Northern and Southern Vietnam, communism, separation of families and friends, painful moments, but also reconnection, belief in a better future. This acclaimed video was presented at the Singapore Biennial in 2013.

The Bridge

The Bridge

Govori o simbolici putovanja, prelasku mosta i stvaranju nove budućnosti, gradnji zajedništva. Simbolika Njemačke koja je bila razjedinjena u prošlosti, Vijetnama i Koreje (Južna i Sjeverna) koja je i dalje razjedinjena.

Talks about the symbolism of travel, crossing the bridge and creating new future, building a community. The symbolism of Germany that was divided in the past, Vietnam and Korea (Northern and Southern) that is still divided.

Marija Lopac, kustos

Marija Lopac, curator