Firewood and the dream of recycled art

Firewood Art Space

Sculptor Le Ngoc Thuan (Hoi An, Quang Nam) is preparing his latest works to participate in an exhibition taking place in early September in Hanoi . Inspired by the Mid-Autumn Festival, he will introduce three sculptures created from old wooden pieces that drifted after floods in his hometown. His three new works are titled: “Going to the street”, “Fish carrying the moon”, “Playing with lions”, evoking in viewers memories of their childhood with Hang, Cuoi and lion and dragon dances during the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Many people often call Le Ngoc Thuan by the familiar name: "Thuan Cua Lu". Remember last May, the first time he brought his sculptures to participate in the exhibition "Con gioi" organized by artist Le Thiet Cuong in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. Viewers were quite unfamiliar with his works and most of them were purchased "in full package", placed solemnly in the collector's home space.

Le Ngoc Thuan shared that in his hometown Quang Nam , people often use animals such as buffalo, chicken, owl... as guardian animals, protecting them in their daily lives. Being a person attached to rivers, mountains and forests, since childhood he loved the blue color of the sea, the bustling scene of boats on the river, the color of wind, sunlight, sunset... From there, he created emotional cultural stories from lifeless pieces of wood that were often only brought back to be used as firewood.

Not stopping at reusing old wooden beams from floods, Le Ngoc Thuan is gradually realizing his dream of building the art space Driftwood. His Driftwood Village in Dong Na village (Hoi An city) has now become a cultural destination, sought after by many tourists. He has dedicated a space of 1,200m2 to display thousands of recycled art works, including models of Hoi An ancient town, the relic of the Japanese Covered Bridge, zodiac animals, statues of the Co Tu ethnic group...

The works are completely handcrafted, imbued with Vietnamese culture. Visitors can also directly watch skilled craftsmen carve wood, learn how to do carpentry, experience making handicrafts... In the long term, Le Ngoc Thuan has a plan to build art creation camps recycled from waste, from fabric, wood, plastic bottles... in the summer, creating a space for fun, experience, and creating a livelihood for local people. "I am fortunate to live in a large cultural area like Hoi An, with once-famous craft villages such as Thanh Ha pottery village, Ban Thach mat village, Kim Bong carpentry village...

As for Kim Bong carpentry village, where I am attached, I see that the product designs are not diverse. Workers are gradually leaving the profession and switching to other jobs. I want to breathe life into wooden products, with a different, newer way of working and looking at things... so that small wooden bars can also make products. Animals close to life made from small wood can be souvenirs for domestic and foreign tourists. This is how we protect the environment, and at the same time help create more jobs for people" - Mr. Le Ngoc Thuan said.

Works made from firewood by sculptor Le Ngoc Thuan.

Bringing fine art products into community tourism

Le Ngoc Thuan is also a familiar name as a pioneer in establishing the first homestay tourism model in An Bang (Hoi An) more than 10 years ago. With this model, he hopes to create a better living environment for the community, thereby contributing to preserving the tangible and intangible cultural values of An Bang. His homestay model makes the most of local human resources. He retains the traditional coastal house architecture: a three-room house with a porch, flower moldings on the door with the function of air circulation and aesthetic value; retains almost all the green trees in the garden; retains the sandy paths leading down to the sea.

Along with that, he uses local materials, which are cheap and easy to find but still ensure the functionality and aesthetic value of the homestay. The accommodation spaces are roofed with coconut leaves, and the fences are made of bamboo or old boat wood. In particular, the equipment in the room is created from recycled materials: Mirror frames are made from tree branches and shells; hanging lamps are made from firewood collected on the beach; bedside decorations are made from old boat planks... Ms. Hoang My Hanh, a tourist who chose An Bang as a destination for her whole family, commented: Le Ngoc Thuan has enriched the indigenous cultural materials, taking cultural inspiration from ethnic minorities in Quang Nam to incorporate into his works.

Le Ngoc Thuan is also nurturing the idea of building an “ecosystem” of recycled art. The recycled wooden products of this young sculptor’s Coco Casa workshop are not only present in his hometown, in a homestay in An Bang, but have also begun to appear at community tourism destinations in Tuyen Quang, Bac Giang, and Thai Nguyen. Classes on recycled art are also being formed. In addition, he has expanded his search for materials in the region, adding cinnamon, acacia, and mother-of-pearl to the source of crafting materials. “As long as we have an idea, we can restore the craft village. We hope to restore the craft village together with artists and the government.

I often organize weekend art markets, where I meet friends and tourists. With the recycled art center and exhibition space, our products can reach the whole country and abroad... Combined with sea fiesta programs and food festivals, we will bring visitors memorable cultural and tourism experiences" - Le Ngoc Thuan expressed optimism when looking back at the results of his and An Bang people's work in recent years.

To revive craft villages and create livelihoods for people, the path of artistic creation is a remarkable choice. Not only creating artifacts and spaces full of aesthetics, recycled art projects, whether small or large scale, also bring new awareness to people.

Artist Le Thiet Cuong, who has been associated with craft villages for many years, said: “The ancients did not want the next generation to “copy”. We must renew traditions, turn heritage into assets... Why are there thousands of craft villages in our country, most of which are in a state of “starvation”, some even completely dead. The reason is the lack of creativity, lack of design, and lack of modernity. If the products of craft villages can survive in today’s life, they can survive on their own. That is the story of design”.

At the end of August, Le Ngoc Thuan's story of Hoi An firewood will be present in Wernigerode, Germany. A miniature image of Hoi An is recreated through Le Ngoc Thuan's sculptures, with the Japanese Covered Bridge, Hoi An ancient town, craft villages... vividly recreated on wooden trunks that seem to be only discarded. His 24 works will be placed solemnly in the "Hoi An Garden" installation space with an area of 200m2. This good news opens up to the community a correct view of the world's art trends: Artistic creation must go hand in hand with protecting resources, protecting the environment... People's attitudes towards the living environment can be awakened through art.

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