The “archaeology” in the current exhibition Tiffany Chung – Thù Thiêm focuses on a district of Saigon now known as Ho Chi Minh City. Yet the maps Chung uses in her surveying and the things her excavation brings to light speak of more than just a piece of land. They tell the fate of a country that the French colonial power long prevented from becoming a “nation” before it was caught between the fronts of the Cold War in the 20th century and became the scene of bloody conflicts in the eyes of the world.
The side exhibition offers deeper insight into the complex and entangled history of Southeast Asia.
At the same time, it dares to build a contemporary bridge between Vietnam and Switzerland. Two video works by Quynh Dong – whose biography has its roots in Asia, although the artist grew up in Bern – explore the mystery of cultural identity.
