Tuan Andrew Nguyen in “Between Worlds”
Tuan Andrew Nguyen
Descriptive audio version available here.
Working alongside Vietnamese communities from Quảng Trị, Vietnam, to Dakar, Senegal, to Louisiana, USA, artist Tuan Andrew Nguyen creates visually rich and narratively captivating films that unearth the untold stories of war, colonization, and migration. Weaving together fact, fiction, archive, and anecdote, his films envision different ways that the wounds of the past can be healed and even become something beautiful. Working in his studio, Nguyen gives new life to the unexploded ordnance that have been buried across the Vietnamese countryside, transforming them into carefully crafted sculptures. This documentary film sees the artist move between locales, histories, and cultures, using the power of storytelling to exorcize the ghosts that linger across generations. “People have a need to tell their stories,” says Nguyen. “These stories are oftentimes forgotten stories, unheard of stories, stories erased by the dominant narrative. So the challenge is just to be open to what people want to say.”
This film was directed by Bryan Chang and Jeffrey Sterrenberg, produced by Zeshawn Ali and Bryan Chang, edited by Zara Serabian-Arthur, and photographed by Miasarah Lai.
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About the artists
Tuan Andrew Nguyen, born in 1976 in Saigon, Vietnam, currently lives and works in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. He received his BA in Studio Art from the University of California, Irvine, in 1999 and his MFA from the California Institute of the Arts in 2004. Throughout his work in video and sculpture, Nguyen explores the use of art as a tool for healing the traumas of colonialism, imperialism, and war that reverberate through communities and generations. His works often focus on lost or erased histories and the retrieval of these narratives through community engagement, speculative fiction, and fantastical propositions in order to bridge the gap between official archives and lived experiences. Throughout Nguyen’s work, collaboration and storytelling are vital tools for understanding history, finding empathy, and moving toward healing.
Educator Guides provide information about selected artists and themes, questions for classroom discussions, and hands-on activities that provide students with a fundamental understanding of creative and critical thinking processes.
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