A Vietnamese and Taiwanese artist have joined hands to hold an exhibition of ceramic artworks and multi-material paintings in Hoi An, a famed touristic city in central Vietnam.

Bui Cong Khanh from Vietnam and Lin Shu Kai from Taiwan are hosting the “Molding Island City” exhibition at the Nhu Garden in Cam Thach Commune in Hoi An, which runs from August 17 to 30.

The event is the second part of a two-phase program organized by non-profit art gallery Absolute Space for the Arts in the Taiwanese city of Tainan, with funding from the Ministry of Culture of Taiwan’s Cultural Exchanges and Collaborative Projects with Personnel from Southeast Asia.

During the first phase, Khanh joined Lin in an artist residency and exhibition in Tainan from April to June. The Taiwanese artist is now in a month-long stay in Hoi An to complete the second leg, which features similar artist residency and exhibition activities.

The program required the artists to study the molding industry and culture of Vietnam and Taiwan and highlight the similarities and differences between them in their artworks.

In “Molding Island City,” Khanh places great emphasis on the symbolic meaning of the material, whereas Lin wants to “reflect on what civilization really means to humans and that people need to contemplate the past and the present in order to give new values and meanings to the future civilization,” according to the Absolute Space for the Arts.

Bui Cong Khanh and Lin Shu Kai share similar backgrounds, with the Vietnamese often taken to his father’s wood workshop when he was young, while the Taiwanese grew up in his dad’s mold foundry factory.

Khanh believes that the similarity instilled in them “a kind of art spirit and creative imagination.”

“Molding Island City” is the second time Khanh and Lin have collaborated in a project, following their first cooperation five years ago.

Below are some photos of the artworks from the “Molding Island City”. All photos are published by courtesy of Bui Cong Khanh.

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