Crafty: German artist Dorothee Berkenheger displays her collections of everyday objects in Hue. Researcher Ho Tan Phan said that preserving the forms and shapes of pottery items in the way that Berkenheger has done in her exhibitions would prove beneficial for the art. — VNS Photo

THUA THIEN-HUE (VNS)— Wood, wax and yarn are the mediums of choice for German artist Dorothee Berkenheger in her new collection at the New Space Arts Foundation in Hue that is running from April 13 to May 1.

Using these three materials, Berkenheger's exhibition replicates forms of real items that inspired her while she was exploring different countries and cultures.

"The idea for an exhibition in Viet Nam developed from my interest in ‘special objects' of different foreign cultures and the import of cultural characteristics," said Berkenheger.

She added that the collections of everyday objects adopted in her work were transformed into objects for the study of variety, endless variation of similarity, and the very small differences.

Berkenheger told Viet Nam News that she wanted to show all the collections in one place so that the audiences could see the variety of items in daily life as well as the diversity of different cultures.

Berkenheger also drew inspiration from the subject of her current research on a collection of three works: two installations of items that she had already replicated; and one digitalised piece of lime-pots that she found in Hue. Her aim for the exhibition was to showcase items that appear to stand the test of time.

All the original objects, which were very sensitive to temperature and other influences, faded very quickly, so to make them more permanent, she used materials to copy their shapes as well as transforming them into pictures and photos.

Berkenheger has planned to do the same work with pottery items that she found in Hue.

Researcher Ho Tan Phan said that preserving the forms and shapes of pottery items in the way that Berkenheger has done in her exhibitions would prove beneficial for the art.

"Pottery found in Hue reflect local culture as the items were made or used by locals. Transforming them into wax forms could help bring them out to the world with no damage to the real artifacts," he said. — VNS