The form of a folded origami sampan has been a consistent motif in my practice. This simple origami structure, taught to me by my mother, has formed the foundation of several works examining the history and narrative of the Vietnamese Diaspora. In An Action for Morning (2014), the act of folding a sampan out of 'Hell Bank Notes' is taking place within the remains of three former refugee camps established following the fall of Saigon in 1975.
This is an act of mourning for the lives loss at sea, and those that continue to be lost in seeking a better life.’ Phuong Ngo, 2024
Phuong Ngo is an artist and curator living and working in Naarm (Melbourne). His practice is concerned with the interpretation of history, memory and place, and how it impacts individual and collective identity. Through an archival process rooted in a conceptual practice, he seeks to find linkages between culture, politics and oral histories and historic events.
Phuong Ngo, An Action for Mourning, moving image (still), image courtesy of the artist and This is No Fantasy