Painter’s book vividly depicts war
Truong Son Cemetery – the resting place of 10,000 martyrs
Motorcycling along Ho Chi Minh Trail

National pride: A painting by late painter Nguyen Thanh Chau will be on display at the exhibition Ký Ức Trường Sơn (Memory of Truong Son). The exhibition will open from April 26 at the Vincom Center for Contemporary Arts.

Entitled Ký Ức Trường Sơn (Memory of Truong Son), the exhibition will showcase more than 200 paintings and sketches by eight painters, who are former soldiers. The artists include late painters Hoang Dinh Tai, Nguyen Thanh Chau, Dao Duc, and other living ones – Chu Thao, Nguyen Duc Du, Tran Huy Oanh, Pham Luc, and Le Tri Dung.

Created during the period from 1960 to 1975, most of the artworks were made on the Truong Son trail (also known as the Ho Chi Minh Trail). Some other works by painters Chau and Du were produced later on, based on original sketches.

Alongside the paintings, Ký Ức Trường Sơn will also include an installation created from hundreds of black and white photos depicting the life and battles of Vietnamese soldiers along the trail.

Diary extracts will also be on show, including those by female war martyr Duong Thi Xuan Quy, composer Vu Trong Hoi, poet Anh Ngoc, and former secretary of Ha Noi City’s Party Committee Pham Quang Nghi.

Musical manuscripts of several famous songs about the trail by composer Huy Du will also be on display. The songs, including Trên Đỉnh Trường Sơn Ta Hát (Singing Together on the Top of Truong Son Range), Tình Em (Your Love), Đêm Trường Sơn (Night on Truong Son), and Nổi Lửa Lên Em (Light a Fire), are still some of the most popular patriotic songs for many Vietnamese people.

Visitors will also have chance to see letters sent from the battlefields by writer Ngo Thao and a handwritten poetry collection by poet Nguyen Thuy Kha.

During the exhibition, aiming to offer visitors valuable information about a glorious period in the nation’s history, the documentary Ký Sự Trường Sơn Huyền Thoại (Reports about Legendary Truong Son) produced by Viet Nam Television will be screened.

Co-organised by the Vincom Center for Contemporary Arts (VCCA) and the Truong Son Veterans’ Society, the exhibition is to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Trường Sơn - Hồ Chí Minh historical trail (19/5/1959 -2019) and 44th anniversary of Việt Nam’s Reunification Day (30/4/1975-2019).

“The paintings and sketches being shown in this exhibition tell the life and times of soldiers on the Truong Son Trail. Part of Truong Son’s history has been memorialised through paintings. By visiting the exhibition, visitors will have the chance to “meet” the brave soldiers and youth volunteers, who did logistics services and made roads for army troops, in every corner of this mountain range. We hope the exhibition will be a meaningful event to mark the country’s celebrations,” said writer Pham Thanh Long, representative of the Truong Son Veterans’ Society.

The Truong Son Trail was constructed in 1959 to carry supplies to the Southern battlefield during the American War. For 16 years, the trail played a key role in the liberation of Southern Vietnam and the country’s reunification on April 30, 1975. The trail has become a legend and a symbol of the Vietnamese people’s resilient spirit and the solidarity between Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia.

In January, the trail was listed among 11 prominent national heritage sites by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

The exhibition Ký Ức Trường Sơn will be open to the public until May 26. The VCCA is at Block B1 – R3, Vincom Mega Mall Royal City, 72A Nguyen Trai Road, Thanh Xuan District.

VNS