mourning those who are still living 

a poetry & design exhibit with collaborating artists: @tina2thu & @rare_chelle

Y-Bình's poetry tells a story of grieving and growing. They write to reckon what has been lost to them and many others as byproducts of the imperial projects of empire building. Their writing is a journey through reconciling violent narratives–colonialism, sexual assault, and racial capitalism–through recapturing ancestral practices.

Using structured creative practices, these artists chơi through the fields of mourning. Tina uses the processes of cyanotyping, silkscreening, marbling, ink painting, bitmap texturing, and joss paper burning to landscape scenes of nostalgic childhood in the Mekong Delta. The physical manifestations of lục bình‎ (water hyacinth), bông cúc (chrysanthemums), nước (water/country), đốt nhang (incense burning), lacquer panels, and ancestor veneration have been curated together as a way of altar building. Sherly interprets a modern form of the Vietnamese áo dài as the final staple of celebration. This exhibit finally unpacks the estranged traditional practice and makes it, spiritually, their own offering.

Looking to book an exhibit, reading, workshop, or something else?