Written by Dr Bridget Tracy Tan
Director, Institute of Southeast Asia Arts – Art Galleries
Academic Advisor (Southeast Asian Arts)
Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts
“Quang Lam’s style is unquestioningly about play, but also about accountability. He wants the viewer to know how we experience what we experience, through what we enact and the thoughts we think, the ways in which we move. His contribution to the exhibition is a series of installations demonstratng the state of the world.
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The Art Project – Air Skylen is participating the Biennale The Wrong 6th Edition, within the Pavilion ANIMA “Directory”, curated by Tam Nguyen, with advisories from Mai Huyen Chi & Xuan Ha and support from Duyen Le and Lien Nguyen
Review of the Art Project Air Skylen
This text has been written by the curator Tam Nguyen for the catalog of the pavilion ANIMA “Directory”
“Air Skylen (2022) embodies Quang Lam’s long-term research into the development of the Vietnamese airline industry.
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The steamliner began his career on September 22, 1912 on the Far East line. In 1914, it was, with its 13,000 gross tonnage, the largest and most luxurious of the Company’s liners, the only one able to offer “luxury” cabins, equivalent to the North Atlantic lines.
Some excerpts of the travel story on Jeanne Marie Méchin aboard the Paul Lecat in November 1923 between Marseille and Saigon. These letters take a month to reach France till the France-Indochina air mail link reduced the time to one week.
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Text from the leaflet
HAIPHONG, the port of the French Protectorate of Tongking, is situated at the far end of the Gulf of Tong-king, on the Cua-Cam, 90 minutes from the sea, and is 8229 miles from Marseilles. Its population is about 75.000, of which the French and Chinese number 15.000.
Fine streets and spacious boulevards bordered by brilliant flowering trees and shrubs give the town a most cheerful appearance. Among its most important buildings are the Residency,
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At the Art Institute of South-East Asia in Singapour , this series Terra Utopia has been displayed within the exhibition XEM – Meta Far-East. It shows how can the perception of the “Far” remain or evolve, from the antique geographical point of view to some more diverse perspectives as the colonization period to the current impact of the climate change.
These photos look like aerial landscapes of unknown coastal territories. Far East Asia was a terra incognita to be discovered.
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Extracts of the article in Air France Magazine 1950
by MAURICE LEMOINE, general secretary of Air France
It was one of the first commercial enterprises in the young state to associate French interests with those of the government. Vietnamese. The latter holds half of the capital, the other half being distributed among various French shareholders, first and foremost Air France. From multiple points of view, this Air Vietnam creation is worthy of attention.
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Nguyen Tan Trung, president of Air Vietnam, has been named chairman of the Board of Directors of the Republic of Vietnam flag carrier. His nomination by board members to the post, which has traditionally been held by a cabinet minister, has been approved by the Vietnamese Government.
Calling 1974 ‘‘a year of challenge for everyone in the
airline business,” Mr. Nguyen Tan Trung said he was persuaded to accept the
additional responsibility with Air Vietnam in consideration of the national
interest and in view of the prospects of the development of the company.
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This text comes from the book Mémoires de Son Excellence Huynh Con dit Đan Tường by Jean-Jacnal written 1924.
This biography of a former Minister of Rites at the Court of Annam contains historical details of his life and has an interesting description of music at the Court.
“Every night, we brought in singers. So little has been written about this category of people that no doubt I will be allowed to give some details about their life,
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These exclusive documents (text, images) of Air Vietnam are part of our collected archives. They fill the gap in the official narrative of Vietnamese Aviation.
Note by the author NGUYÊN MẠNH CUNG
This article was written according to the documents of Mr. Fery Vital, ITA, DGAC and Air France, with the collaboration of Ms. Nguyen Thi Kim Tuyen and Mr. Nguyen Tu Thien, Lam Ngoc Diep, Tran Tho Phuoc ,
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Theses postcards written in early 20th century are unique archive sent from Ha Noi to different capitals of the world (Paris, Beijing, New York, Bruxelles, Hong Khong) give an historical value to the artworks
These conceptual maps are related to the colonialism epoch of Viet Nam in the early 20th century.
Hanoi is drawn in transparency over the foreign city meaning the lost of sovereignty of Hanoi at the expense of the external powers.
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