Nhu Hua Xuan. I’m home late, don’t you care where I’ve been? Extract from the series ‘Honey Baby’, 2020.
Nhu Xuan Hua, French-Vietnamese artist, features her first exhibition Hug of a Swan at the Huis Marseille. The exhibition aims to close the gaps in her own knowledge about her Vietnamese roots, about her family and between the two cultures she grew up with.
Falling in love with the architecture that Huis Marsielle has to offer, Nhu Xuan Hua created four installations, each her own world in the rooms featuring her work. Carefully curating an experience that makes your senses tingle, she selected music to accompany each installation that you can scan as a QR code and listen to. This adds to the entire experience and allows you to take in the grandness of the red room, that channels the essence of Vietnamese temples, or the green room with its colorful disco lights dancing across the walls.
In her short speech on the opening evening of the exhibition, Hua says: ‘After all, we are all in need of connection, so what is more soothing than a hug.’ And a hug is indeed exactly what this exhibition feels like. Each family photo featured is from Hua’s family archives, and has yellowed with time, giving it its nostalgic analogue feel. Although the faces of all the subjects have been removed, the scenes feel very familiar; a family posing for a photo at a wedding or sitting around a table ready to eat. In fact, every installation in Hua’s exhibition features a table and they are all set up as an invite to a meal, something that is an expression of love in Vietnamese culture (Huis Marseille, 2022).
Another remarkable vein throughout her exhibition is that her family members are the source of inspiration for many of her works. Her brother inspired her ‘Be a Super’ piece from her ‘Dear Wind’ series, and memories with her parents inspired her ‘Oysters and Tangerines’ room. The use of the many photographs from her family archives shows how she is both a part of something bigger than herself and how she is simultaneously a part of that connection (Huis Marseille, 2022).
Nhu Hua Xuan. Birthday Rue des vignes – Archive from year 88, Extract from Tropism, Consequences of a displaced memory – study one, 2016–2021
Going through Hua’s exhibition made me feel as though I was transported to four very different experiences, yet you could feel the connections throughout. I knew I was going to fall in love with the exhibition the moment I saw the fans on the faux grass bed as a tribute to the heat in Vietnam, and how strikingly the carefully crafted rooms tied in with the architecture of Huis Marsielle. I loved the addition of the music to each room because it felt like I was immersed in the experience, rather than viewing it as an observer. My personal favourite of this exhibition were the extracts from her series ‘Honey Baby’. While thematically the works moved away from her own family, to me they still tied greatly into the realm of relationships as a whole.
While Hug of a Swan is undoubtedly a reflection of Hua’s connection to her own relationships with her family members, it made me want to consider my own. This led me to go hunting for all the photographs of my childhood memories, from family vacations to lively birthday parties. The fact that this feeling of nostalgia was evoked makes me sure that her hopes for this exhibition feeling like a hug from her to her audience was definitely fulfilled.
The exhibition Hug of a Swan by photographer Nhu Xuan Hua is on display until December 4th, 2022 at Huis Marseille, Amsterdam.
Nhu Xuan Hua, French-Vietnamese artist, features her first exhibition Hug of a Swan at the Huis Marseille. The exhibition aims to close the gaps in her own knowledge about her Vietnamese roots, about her family and between the two cultures she grew up with.
Nhu Xuan Hua. I’m home late, don’t you care where I’ve been? Extract from the series ‘Honey Baby’, 2020
Falling in love with the architecture that Huis Marsielle has to offer, Nhu Xuan Hua created four installations, each her own world in the rooms featuring her work. Carefully curating an experience that makes your senses tingle, she selected music to accompany each installation that you can scan as a QR code and listen to. This adds to the entire experience and allows you to take in the grandness of the red room, that channels the essence of Vietnamese temples, or the green room with its colorful disco lights dancing across the walls.
In her short speech on the opening evening of the exhibition, Hua says: ‘After all, we are all in need of connection, so what is more soothing than a hug.’ And a hug is indeed exactly what this exhibition feels like. Each family photo featured is from Hua’s family archives, and has yellowed with time, giving it its nostalgic analogue feel. Although the faces of all the subjects have been removed, the scenes feel very familiar; a family posing for a photo at a wedding or sitting around a table ready to eat. In fact, every installation in Hua’s exhibition features a table and they are all set up as an invite to a meal, something that is an expression of love in Vietnamese culture (Huis Marseille, 2022).
Another remarkable vein throughout her exhibition is that her family members are the source of inspiration for many of her works. Her brother inspired her ‘Be a Super’ piece from her ‘Dear Wind’ series, and memories with her parents inspired her ‘Oysters and Tangerines’ room. The use of the many photographs from her family archives shows how she is both a part of something bigger than herself and how she is simultaneously a part of that connection (Huis Marseille, 2022).
Going through Hua’s exhibition made me feel as though I was transported to four very different experiences, yet you could feel the connections throughout. I knew I was going to fall in love with the exhibition the moment I saw the fans on the faux grass bed as a tribute to the heat in Vietnam, and how strikingly the carefully crafted rooms tied in with the architecture of Huis Marsielle. I loved the addition of the music to each room because it felt like I was immersed in the experience, rather than viewing it as an observer. My personal favourite of this exhibition were the extracts from her series ‘Honey Baby’. While thematically the works moved away from her own family, to me they still tied greatly into the realm of relationships as a whole.
While Hug of a Swan is undoubtedly a reflection of Hua’s connection to her own relationships with her family members, it made me want to consider my own. This led me to go hunting for all the photographs of my childhood memories, from family vacations to lively birthday parties. The fact that this feeling of nostalgia was evoked makes me sure that her hopes for this exhibition feeling like a hug from her to her audience was definitely fulfilled.
The exhibition Hug of a Swan by photographer Nhu Xuan Hua is on display until December 4th, 2022 at Huis Marseille, Amsterdam.
