Viet Nam News
HA NOI — Fashionable tote bags and smartphone cases imprinted with patterns and images of traditional folk paintings are on display at an exhibition in Ha Noi.
The exhibition “When Modern Works Bear The Traditional Spirit” is the next step of the Hoa Sac Viet (Painting Vietnamese Colours) project launched by designer Trinh Thu Trang.
The show features smartphones cases imprinted with images of Mother Goddesses, as well as shoes, Nha Xa silk scarves, T-shirts and notebooks with Hang Trong paintings.
Trang worked with traditional artists to research Hang Trong paintings and use them on modern goods. All of the research was recorded in the book The Vietnamese Colours of Hang Trong Paintings released in April.
Now she is owner of S-River Company which inspires Vietnamese enterprises to create products that bear the country’s cultural identity.
After the launch of the book, S-River has had the chance to collaborate with many enthusiastic enterprises who want to tell their proud stories with images and designs that have a strong cultural identity.
“Now our project has stepped out of the pages – it is no longer a theory, it has come to life,” said Trang.
“We hope that the exhibition will create a space that preserves the traditional values in a brand new, contemporary and inspiring way.”
“Our project provides new methods of preserving and promoting the value of Vietnamese traditions. We do not try to apply the original work of art into modern life, not with a false hope to hold onto the past.”
“What our team does is to find materials from the source of folk culture and then carefully apply them into modern products.”
“That is our approach to revitalise our traditional values so they do not exist in the museums only but also become familiar in Vietnamese people’s daily life.”
Trang revealed that next year, she will release a book entitled The Vietnamese Colours of Dong Ho Paintings, in which she discovers the art of Dong Ho paintings and experiments the potential to apply the patterns onto modern products.
The exhibition will run until November 7 at the Viet Nam – Korea Design Centre, 17 Yet Kieu Street, Ha Noi. — VNS