Ly Nguyen
‘Intimacy Incarnations’ aims to explore the theme of encoding memory through text and language. Personal written notes once stored on my mobile phone and then get forgotten are now brought into surface. Unwarranted, fleeting thoughts are finally made into forms. Clay, paint, fabric, foil, tape are among the materials used to enact these ideas. Through crafty experimentations and record of their markings, I created these ‘ghostly words’, embedded and concealed within the materials, to signify the process of translating my intimate thoughts. By exposing rather ominous thoughts with a sense of playfulness, these works highlight, and then mitigate, the tension between the private and the public.

Self-Affirmations (Five Times)

White spray paint on ecru poplin fabric, 50 cm x 110 cm each.

Self-Affirmations (Five Times) involves five ‘reversed’ self-affirmative texts embedded into fine, delicate fabric. The texts are only observable when placed in front of a light source, or a dark background. The order of texts is randomised to reflect the fleeting nature of such momentary thoughts and the power of their individuality. Yet the presentation of these fabric strips together as a whole work shows how these thoughts are interlinked, all stemming from a source–a personality, and a persona.

A Brief Feeling I Had

Masking tape and air-dry clay on wall, overall installation dimensions 70 cm x 250 cm.

A Brief Feeling I Had is a paragraph of text made of clay letters taped onto white walls. It is not just a representation of a thought, but a feeling following a train of thought. The white colour of the letters, masking tape and wall mirrors a sense of concealment which shifts the focus of the work from colour to the forms and textures emerging from the surface, urging viewers to come closer to the be able to witness–for the feeling is so personal that it needs to be acknowledged through the closeness of senses.

Marking of Thoughts (Five Times)

Air-dry clay on black-coloured paper, 21 cm x 29.7 cm each.

This Is Where It Ends (Silver)

Spray paint and aluminium foil on canvas, 45 cm x 60 cm.

This Is Where It Ends (White)

Air-dry clay, installation dimensions 20 cm x 20 cm.

Reversals

Air-dry clay, 7.5 cm x 10 cm (left), 9 cm x 14 cm (right)

Installation view 1

Installation view 2

Installation view 3

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