Binh Danh has been recrafting memories, using chlorophyll, leaves and the sun.
“Immortality, The Remnants of the Vietnam and American War” is a project that addresses the continuum of war, both in the artist’s memory, and in the life and landscape of Vietnam.
Binh says the original idea for this exposure process came from seeing the time-based effects of harsh sun on his lawn. Objects such as hoses or tools that were left out left imprints of their presence on the baked, dry grass.
Binh uses this transference to explore his personal understanding of the Vietnam War, casting his temporal views in resin, as artifacts.
From his statement,
“This process deals with the idea of elemental transmigration: the decomposition and composition of matter into other forms. The images of war are part of the leaves, and live inside and outside of them. The leaves express the continuum of war.
They contain the residue of the Vietnam War: bombs, blood, sweat, tears, and metals. The dead have been incorporated into the landscape of Vietnam during the cycles of birth, life, and death; through the recycling and transformation of materials, and the creation of new materials.”
See more of “Immortality, The Remnants of the Vietnam and American War” and read his project statement here.
