Mien Meo Mieng / Contemporary Art from Vietnam

This summer's exhibition at Bildmuseet is one of the most comprehensive presentations to date of Vietnamese art in Sweden. It fills Bildmuseet with sculpture, video, painting, drawing and installation and has been produced in collaboration with Tran Luong, one of Vietnam's most prominent curators.

Mien Meo Mieng translates as 'The land of distortion'. Caution, consideration and contortion are required in order to express one's opinion in Vietnamese society, a reality with origins in the country's history. A serious and critical message is often hidden behind a seemingly innocent and sometimes humorous statement. The Vietnamese saying "Roll your tongue seven times before speaking" is the thematic origin of the exhibition.

Mien Meo Mieng / Contemporary Art from Vietnam includes sculpture, video, painting, drawing and installation by 14 artists active in their homeland. Most of the works were created during the past two years and some especially for this exhibition. The works concern such topics as the aftermath of war, freedom of expression, economic conditions, migration and the general vulnerability of the Vietnamese society.

Participating artists are Bang Nhat Linh, Nguyen Huy An, Nguyen Manh Hung, Nguyen Phuong Linh, Nguyen The Son, Nguyen Tran Nam, Nguyen Trinh Thi, Nguyen UuDam, Pham Tran Viet Nam, Tran Thi Kim Ngoc, Tran Tuan, Trieu Minh Hai, Truong Cong Tung and Vu Hong Ninh. This exhibition presents their works for the first time in Sweden.

The exhibition is produced by Bildmuseet and organised by Hanoi-based Curator Tran Luong and assistant Curator Le Thuan Uyen. A richly illustrated catalogue is under production.