FROM THE STREETS OF HANOI
In 1992, while living in Hanoi, Vietnam, I created a series of collages entitled From the Streets of Hanoi. This work evolved from seeking out bits of trash and paper that I collected daily. Post war Vietnam was relatively poor, so finding scraps to work with was often difficult. Eventually, I ended up buying some of the only paper readily available—Joss papers — purchased on Hanoi’s Hang Ma Street in the Old Quarter. The Joss papers— or ghost money— is burned to venerate ancestors. I also used receipts, toilet paper, plastic bags, lottery tickets, pages from old soviet books and watercolors. Originally individual pieces of art, this series was transformed into an installation for the Conflict, Destruction, Renewal: Contemporary Artists on War exhibition in the Palmer Gallery at Vassar College in 2012. The work’s fragility is reminiscent of a society rebuilding and suffering from war yet moving on despite material hardship. Visitors were invited to take a Joss paper from the small table.
