ThingsAsianPerformance Art, Concrete & Fire - Photo-Essay
A girl from one of the neighboring farms was shy yet fascinated by all the strange guests.
Image © 2009 Elizabeth Briel
Preparations
The highlight of my time in Hanoi actually took place outside of town: a birthday party for Anh Khanh. He owns a piece of land 50km outside the city, and a few dozen friends planned to celebrate the night drinking rice wine, barbequing, and dancing to a DJ after Khanh's performance. I'd met him a few days before, so he'd invited me along.
Khanh performing on one of his gigantic sculptures
This artist has been commonly described as "an ex-cop" or "the craziest artist in Hanoi", though neither label sums up his vision or his unique blend of improv performance; intuitive singing and dancing; painting; and sculpture. Khanh has been instrumental in pushing the boundaries of art in the conservative Vietnamese capital.
Hand shadows
Fact File:
Performance artist's website: http://www.daoanhkhanh.com
Acknowledgement:
This 6-week Vietnam trip was possible thanks to a travel grant from ThingsAsian.
A shorter version of this photo-essay was published on the author's blog: http://elizabethbriel.blogspot.com
