VietNamNet Bridge – After the controversial “Fly off” performance art show in 2010, Lai Thi Dieu Ha once again amazed and terrified the audience with her mortification performance on February 22 in Hanoi.

Dieu Ha performed in "Fly off" last year.

In the evening of February 22, artist Lai Thi Dieu Ha performed at Nha San Studio in Hanoi. This was a closed show where cameras were banned.

Starting the show, Dieu Ha brought a basin full of fresh pig bladders. She spread bladders onto the floor and used hot irons to iron each bladder. She repeated this action many times.

The artist then squeezed out the bladders and iron them again and again. She covered her face and her hands with these bladders and ironed them again and again. The audience could see the smoked and singed bladders.

She rolled up her sleeves to the elbow and rubbed the hot iron over and over again on her arms until the skin blistered. At this time, many audience were very scarce.

Arts or shocking trick?

Dieu Ha rubbed the hot iron on her arms in the show this year.

Performing artist Dao Anh Khanh told Dat Viet newspaper that this was not the first mortification show in Vietnam. There are performing art shows with mortification and even violence when artists do terrifying acts like thrusting needles into their body.

After this impressive show, Dieu Ha said she wanted to send the message of destruction to the viewers. However, her performance terrified many people.

Dieu Ha’s show has stirred up controversy on the Internet. A member named Hsu wrote on an online forum: “I think performance art is an art that is difficult for many people to understand. There are similar shows abroad but they are suitable to the culture and the thought of foreign people. In Vietnam, few people can understand Ha’s performance. It is not a problem for adults but if kids see it, what will they think and feel?”

A member with nickname Xaque wrote: “I don’t understand what kind of art is in her show? If it is too sublime, she should perform it for art critics, not the public”.

Commenting on this terrifying performance, HCM City Law Newspaper wrote: “Calling herself as an artist, Lai Thi Dieu Ha can partly affect the thinking and actions of the audience. But she performed mortification. What Dieu Ha did many partly encourage the trend of mortification.

Earlier, Dieu Ha was known for her nude show entitled “Fly off” in 2010. In this show, she took off all clothes and coated her body with glue and covered her body with feathers. She performed like a bird that is about to fly off. After that, she put a small bird in her mouth and opened the mouth immediately for the bird to fly away.

Despite public controversy, the 35-year-old female artist confirmed that she doesn’t aim to make shocking shows to polish her name and she is not afraid to face public criticism.

M. Le