The Stroke of a Pen by Mick Saylom

20th November – 30th November: Maison de la Culture de Ban Naxay, Vientiane 1st December – 31st December: Riverside Boutique Resort, Vang Vieng

Mick Saylom The stroke of a pen

Acknowledgement This exhibition was organized by Mr. StĂŠphane VigiĂŠ in partnership with Riverside Boutique Resort, Vang Vieng, Ban Naxay Cultural Center and Bank Franco-Lao. Their support is gratefully acknowledged.

Cover drawing:

Tai Daeng women back from work 2015, ink and watercolor on paper, 25 x 36 cm

Mick SAYLOM

Foreword

Born on 28 mai 1977, Mick Saylom is a graduate from the National Institute of Fine Arts (NIFA) in Vientiane, Laos, were he became the Head of Painting in 2010.

The Stroke of a pen is the result of an encounter between two art lovers fascinated by the cultural diversity of Laos and anxious to capture it before it becomes history. One of them is Mick Saylom, head of painting at the National Institute of Fine Arts, Vientiane. The other one is Stéphane Vigié, co-owner of Riverside Boutique Resort, Vang Vieng.

He has participated in various group and solo exhibitions in Laos and other Asian countries.

SOLO EXHIBITIONS 2001 2009 2011 2014

Art Exhibition at 21st Century School, Vientiane, Laos World Around Me, M Gallery, Singapore In Between The Lines, M Gallery, Singapore The Roof Of Virtue, MASH Gallery, Laos

Email: mick.saylom@gmail.com mobile: +856 (0)20 556 22173

Ever since he was a child, Mick Saylom has taken every opportunity to travel to the most remote places of Laos, alone or with fellow artists, to discover new traditions, new cultures and new ethnic groups, to make sketches and to collect photographs. These sketches and photographs have continuously nourished his creativity and his work to this day. It is because of Mick’s focus on Lao nature and culture that Stéphane Vigié approached him back in 2012 when he started working on the development of Riverside Boutique Resort in Vang Vieng. At the heart of the resort concept was the promotion of Laos in all its diversity, including its ethnic diversity. Their encounter and their discussions gave birth to a first series of ink drawings representing different ethnic villages, which are displayed at the reception of the hotel as well as in the rooms.

The Stroke of a pen builds on this initial work and takes it one step further, with watercolor elements that underline the contrast between the colorful beauty of ethnic groups and of Lao nature on the one hand, and the difficulty and monotony of the day-to-day lives of farmers, fishermen and local people in the Lao countryside.

We hope that with time this catalogue and its paintings will serve as a reminder of what life in Laos used to be, with its mix of charm, elegance and hardship.

Yao man 2015, ink and watercolor on paper, 14 x 18 cm

Champa Muang Lao 2015, ink and watercolor on paper, 74 x 54 cm

A river runs through it, Nam Huang, Sayabury

Elephants in the wild

2015, ink and watercolor on paper, 25 x 36 cm

2015, ink and watercolor on paper, 25 x 36 cm

Gold weavers 2015, ink and watercolor on paper, 74 x 54 cm

Yao woman 2015, ink and watercolor on paper, 14 x 18 cm

Plowing season

Market gossips, Sekong

2015, ink and watercolor on paper, 34 x 54 cm

2015, ink and watercolor on paper, 25 x 36 cm

Akha village

Ban Tai Daeng, Houaphan (2)

2015, ink and watercolor on paper, 53 x 73 cm

2015, ink and watercolor on paper, 53 x 73 cm

Ban Tai Daeng, Houaphan

Ban Phousy, Luang Prabang

2015, ink and watercolor on paper, 53 x 73 cm

2015, ink and watercolor on paper, 34 x 53 cm

Multi-ethnic village 2015, ink on paper, 74 x 54 cm