This is the final entry of our blog introducing the artworks of Dinh Q. Lê. This time we focus on Light and Belief: Sketches of Life from the Vietnam War.
"Dinh Q. Lê: Memory for Tomorrow" runs through Monday, October 12. You have a few more weeks to see this great exhibition at the Mori Art Museum!
Light and Belief: Sketches of Life from the Vietnam War
The 100 sketches displayed on the walls were produced by the artists who served alongside North Vietnamese soldiers during the Vietnam War. These sketches do not depict tragic scenes, in contrary they portray soldiers and civilians' everyday lives. After becoming interested in these drawings, Lê visited the artists and interviewed them about their wartime experiences. From their stories we learn that there were peaceful, enjoyable moments even during the days of intense fighting. Having their portraits made was a consolation for the soldiers.
Wartime memories tend to be piled together as stereotypical images. However, through individual voices presented in this work, we get a clearer picture of the lives of people involved, the lives touched by all sorts of emotions, including sadness and joy.
Text: Araki Natsumi (Curator, Mori Art Museum)
Light and Belief: Sketches of Life from the Vietnam War
2012
100 drawings: pencil, watercolor, ink and oil on paper
single-channel color video with sound
Dimensions variable; 35 min.
Collection: Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, The Henry L. Hillman Fund, 2013.37.1-102
Installation view: "Dinh Q. Lê: Memory for Tomorrow," 2015
Photo: Nagare Satoshi
■Relevant Information
・"Dinh Q. Lê: Memory for Tomorrow"
Saturday, July 25 - Monday, October 12, 2015
Untold Stories - Introduction to the Artwork of Dinh Q. Lê
（1）The "Photo Weaving" Series
（2）The Farmers and the Helicopters
（3）Erasure
（4）South China Sea Pishkun
（5）Everything Is a Re-Enactment
（6）Light and Belief: Sketches of Life from the Vietnam War
