Danh Vo

[University of Auckland Library, Benni's account]

Not going to lie, this was kind of disappointing. There's no way that a publication like this would be able to provide the same experience as an in-person exhibition, but I expected a lot more than documentation (incomplete and often lacking in detail) and an introductory text (which was, to be fair, still quite insightful). Nonetheless still glad I got to read this and get more familiar with Vo's "curatorial" practice, as well as some of the artists he engages with here.… (meer)

[University of Auckland Library, Benni's account]

A lot better than I expected! I'm not sure if I would call this illuminating, but it certainly gave me newfound angles and depths from which to see and take for myself Vo's work (which has been an inspiration ever since I first discovered them). The writing style can be hit-or-miss, but when it hits it really hits. The way it skirts around and across histories, ideas and poetry can be mesmeric and deeply poignant, almost revelatory, at times.

"I wonder what bones and bodies, vacancies and lacunae, you hide. What secret relics heavy with meaning have you buried beneath the floorboards, away from confrontations and questions, kept but kept in a dark place, hidden carefully from the exorcism of a clean, clear light?"… (meer)

Danh Vo's conceptual artworks and installations often draw upon elements of personal lived experience (his own, the lives of his parents and other family members) to explore broader historical, social or political themes, particularly those relating to the history of Vietnam at the close of the twentieth century. The works shown in this book―closely related to an exhibition at the Pinault Foundation in Venice―in addition to Vo's site-specific installations, include some curious old works of art from Venetian museums and collections, provocatively chosen by Vo to establish an unprecedented dialogue between past and present.… (meer)