Successful conversion of Dong Khoi monument material

Dong Khoi Monument has been converted from reinforced concrete to natural granite.

Construction according to correct process

According to information from the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism (DOCST), the Dong Khoi monument was started and completed (1994 - 1995) on the occasion of the 35th anniversary of Ben Tre Dong Khoi Day, with reinforced concrete construction materials. After 27 years, up to now, the statue of Mother Ben Tre and the group of Ben Tre People statues have deteriorated, had to be plastered, cemented and repainted many times because the steel inside has rusted and exploded outside, affecting the aesthetics of the monument.

The project to upgrade and transfer materials for the Dong Khoi Ben Tre Monument was approved by the Provincial People's Committee under Decision No. 2425/QD-UBND dated October 31, 2019 with funding from the state budget. The Provincial People's Committee also approved the plan to select the project contractor under Decision No. 2694/QD-UBND on December 5, 2019.

The Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism has taken steps to implement the project in accordance with the provisions of law. At the same time, the Department coordinated with the Department of Cultural Heritage under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to consult with the Provincial People's Committee to establish a Project Management Board according to Decision No. 346/QD-UBND dated February 21, 2022.

Before completion, the Provincial Council of Artistic Design went directly to the statue construction site in Ninh Binh to inspect the stone and accept step 1 with the unit that created the stone material. According to the Council of Artistic Design's assessment, after receiving and completing the council's comments, the progress of transporting the statue to Ben Tre and installing the project coincided with the general plan. During the installation process, the authors in the Dong Khoi monument's author group, sculptor Tran Thi Chuc and architect Doan Thien Luong, were regularly present at the construction site to monitor, give comments, and make timely adjustments. The transportation and installation process took place safely.

Expressing the meaning of the character statue

The material conversion was only done with the statue of Mother Ben Tre and the cluster of statues of Ben Tre People, while the stylized coconut leaf symbol and the relief panel were kept as before, only cleaned and lightly restored. The new statue group was converted to granite material, keeping the original shape and size, only changing the color from white paint (for the statue of Mother Ben Tre) and brick red paint (for the cluster of statues of Ben Tre People) to the gray-white color of natural granite.

The image of Mother Ben Tre of the heroic “Long-haired Army” was taken as the main statue in the Dong Khoi monument complex. The statue of the mother is 7.3m high, in a forward posture, holding a coconut leaf torch high to light the way, waving her hand back as if giving the command to advance. The group of 5 statues 4.5m high depicts the content of the people participating in the resistance war, from the elderly to children, the living and the dead going to battle together.

As one of the members of the Provincial Council of Artists appraising the Dong Khoi monument, artist Truong Cham commented: “The success of switching to granite is that the project achieves harmony and contrast. With the previous reinforced concrete material, we applied the casting technique so the statue had a rough, rough texture. When switching to stone, we achieved smoothness and sharpness, creating clear blocks, combined with natural light to highlight the lines and shapes of the statue. Thereby, contributing to increasing the value of the monument complex. Some public opinions when coming to see the statue assembly process reflected that the details of the characters' eyes were very soulful, thus the technique of carving statues on granite has helped to successfully express the nature and feelings of the characters. From the old man beating the gong, the soldier, the mother holding the body of her child or the baby holding a bundle of sticks and especially the Ben Tre Mother, all exude the Dong Khoi spirit.”

One of the authors of the Dong Khoi monument, painter Le Dan, said: “According to my comments and public opinion during the past days of installation, the people responded very well, using granite material to express the strong and steadfast Dong Khoi spirit. The newly completed project has beautiful stone color and artistic quality. Personally, as one of the authors of the Dong Khoi monument, I am very happy when the project is completed.”

Along with positive comments and assessments of the project, Mr. Tran Cong Ngu - former Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee (member of the Provincial People's Council) also gave comments and suggested adding information about the group of authors, design consultants of the project and information about the monument cluster at the project site so that people know clearly about the value of the Dong Khoi monument.

In addition, the delegates also proposed that the province consider a plan to continue transferring materials for the remaining reliefs in the currently degraded statue complex to ensure uniformity in aesthetics and quality for the entire project. Regarding this content, according to Vice Chairwoman of the Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Thi Be Muoi, the Council of Arts has noted the opinion. Currently, the reliefs will be repaired and restored, and the province will consider transferring materials to have a plan in the near future.

“The Provincial People's Council has just held a meeting to accept the completion of the statue "Mother of Ben Tre" and the statue cluster "People of Ben Tre" under the project of Upgrading and changing the material of the Dong Khoi Ben Tre monument. The material conversion of the Dong Khoi monument has been completed, and the Provincial People's Council highly appreciates this conversion, which has increased the value and meaning of the monument. As for the remaining items such as the relief and stylized coconut boat, they are currently deteriorating and not of the same material, so they are not consistent in the general context. We will submit to the competent authorities, the Provincial Party Committee, and the Provincial People's Committee to consider a plan to upgrade the quality to be consistent. At the same time, we will also carry out additional items such as ornamental flowers and lighting to complete the space, creating a suitable highlight for the meaningful monument of the province."

(Director of Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Van Ban)

Article and photos: T. Dong

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