Artwork of Australian artist and Vietnamese students focuses on plastic materials with a message on environmental protection. 

A painting of a student at the opening ceremony of the exhibition 

Rethink, an exhibition showcasing the work of multi-disciplinary Australian artist Bianca Hoffrichter and 15 Vietnamese students, opened on September 20 at the Vietnamese Women’s Museum, co-organized by the museum and the Embassy of Australia.

The exhibition brings into focus discussion around how we use plastics in our everyday life and hopes to spark a conversation around environmental shifts within this issue. Exhibited artworks explore the materiality of plastic itself and its likeness to fabric and paper, and also brings a positive, beautiful perspective on what would have been trash. Main pieces in the exhibition also speak to the current fast fashion industry, which contributes to pollution around the world.

Inspiration for Bianca’s artworks came from her exploration of collections at the Vietnamese Women’s Museum as well as historical artifacts at the Muong Museum. “There are a lot of great possibilities in connecting with the traditional practices of ethnic minorities in Vietnam and the First Nation People in Australia, who lived far more sustainably with the land,” Bianca said. “I think we have so much to learn from every culture, and with a collective knowledge we can help solve this issue.”

In the lead up to the exhibition, she conducted a painting and embroidering on plastic workshop with students from a range of schools in Hanoi who were asked to take photos to document plastics in their everyday life. The workshop was expected to make young citizens rethink the way they use plastic products and be more creative in re-using them.

“Co-organizing the workshop and exhibition is our museum’s social responsibility,” Ms. Duong Thi Hang, Vice Director of the Vietnamese Women’s Museum, said at the opening. “From the workshop we will develop an education program in which we help students learn about social issues through interactive and experimental activities.”

“The exhibition may challenge your definition of an art exhibition as it uses contemporary expression to reflect social issues,” said Ms. Stacey Nation, Counsellor at the Australian Embassy. “Exhibition organizers being open to displaying artworks made by students brings art closer to daily life. It proves that everyone is able to be creative and have their own way to protect the environment, and we treasure all of their efforts.”

Bianca is also one of more than 1,500 New Colombo Plan (NCP) students who will have studied in Vietnam by the end of 2018. Her work is among many other activities that NCP students have done with different Vietnamese communities, contributing and enhancing people-to-people links between the two countries and Vietnam’s development.

The exhibition is open until September 30 at the Vietnamese Women’s Museum, 36 Ly Thuong Kiet, Hai Ba Trung district, Hanoi.

VN Economic Times