Million needles draw unique pictures by Thao Nguyen Phuong

Thảo Nguyên Phương - Ảnh 1. — Thao Nguyen Phuong has nearly 10 years of pursuing fiber art - Photo: NVCC

The Fiber Exhibition at Artera Space (115 Nguyen Thai Hoc, Hanoi , lasting until November 7), is considered a pioneering mark of fiber art (not embroidery) in Vietnam, bringing many surprises and excitement to viewers.

A truly "wow" exhibition

At the exhibition Soi, a small, pretty notebook and pen are always ready for visitors to record their feelings to the artist. In that notebook, many messages are spread on paper. Among them, the most shared feeling is "really wow" about the ingenuity, meticulousness and patience.

A colleague shared his feelings about Thao Nguyen Phuong's expressive and impressive writing style and encouraged her to continue in that direction.

Many others expressed their impression of Thao Nguyen Phuong's "lonely but very impressive artistic journey", which created works that left them "truly overwhelmed and moved".

Thảo Nguyên Phương - Ảnh 2. — Artist Thao Nguyen Phuong at the Soi exhibition space - Photo: Organizing Committee

Thao Nguyen Phuong said that to complete each painting in this exhibition, sometimes it takes her 5 months, sometimes more than 2 years.

Unlike embroidery artists who draw and embroider first, Thao Nguyen Phuong lets her emotions flow through the threads and needles. The paintings are completely hand-sewn, with many layers of thread overlapping each other, creating a thick surface with depth and vibrancy.

Each painting is a million of tireless, steadfast needles of youth passionate about exploring new emotional regions, new frontiers of art.

So the exhibition "Soil" is not just an exhibition, but a thank you to the fiber material, to her youth, to those who have accompanied her and to those who have doubted her.

The artist wants to invite the public to enter for the first time a world she calls "where fibers breathe".

Thảo Nguyên Phương - Ảnh 3. — The Yarn Exhibition attracts many young people to enjoy - Photo: T.DIEU

The path of art is lonely, but I find myself there

The Soi exhibition takes viewers through four spaces, corresponding to the stages of maturity in Thao Nguyen Phuong's nearly decade-long creative journey.

The first is “Unfinished”, which showcases her unfinished works. She does not choose to hide her early imperfections, but wants them to be seen as part of her artistic journey.

Next is "Inheritance", displaying paintings in which she "redraws" famous works using yarn, not copies, but as a dialogue with her predecessors through new materials.

In the "Ego" section, viewers begin to clearly recognize Thao Nguyen Phuong's unique voice.

She said that when the learning journey calmed down, she began to face the biggest question: "What am I doing?"

At that moment, she said goodbye to her old influences and returned to herself. She started creating because she wanted to get closer to her emotions and experiences, not because of concerns about right and wrong.

The deeper she went, the more she understood that the artistic path was a lonely one, but it was also where she found her own voice.

And the final part of the exhibition is "Beginning", where Thao Nguyen Phuong displays her most complete works, the crystallization of 2.5 years of diligent hand-sewing.

Thảo Nguyên Phương - Ảnh 4. — Thao Nguyen Phuong's paintings attract viewers' attention and fascination - Photo: T.DIEU

According to information from the organizer, fiber art appeared in the 1950s in Europe and America, when artists began to turn fibers into expressive materials, instead of just using them for weaving.

By the 1960s and 1970s, this movement spread with the wave of feminism, as a way of affirming: what was once considered "housework" could also be turned into art.

In Vietnam, the concept of fiber art is still new. Thao Nguyen Phuong is a pioneer on this path.