
Credit: Thu Trần
About “Mưỡu” Exhibition
The echoes of Ca trù have led me to a place—perhaps one I chose as an anchor—that, in some way, has freed the artistic language I rely on.
From the lingering mist rising, from the melodies of ả đào singers—”The green mountains, the blue waters…”—sung by generations of performers, from Quách Thị Hồ to Kim Đức, from artist-scholar Bạch Vân… One can only listen, absorb, and feel, yet words fail to capture it. They sing with a haunting, restless passion, like silkworms tirelessly spinning their silk.
The soaring compositions, the fates of ca nương singing for others, radiant in their beauty yet destined to fade—above all, these elements form an unparalleled musical tradition, both grand and sorrowful.
Be it the blades of grass, the branches of trees, or the fate of any individual, Ca trù channels their deepest emotions. That is why I wish to sing Ca trù through my own language—painting and contemporary installation art.