VietNamNet Bridge – Artist Nguyen Ngoc Dan depicts the corners of Ha Noi with tangled electric wires in Pho (Streets), an exhibition that opened last Friday, Dec 14.

For Dan, the show culminates years of research on the city's streets. With 20 tonnes of materials including two tonnes of electric wire, it's not only his biggest exhibition, but also the largest show ever on the theme of the street.

In addition to the concrete and electric wire installations, 20 oil paintings of Ha Noi streets will also be on display. A light and sound system conjures up the liveliness of the urban environment.

"Electric wire systems have been placed underground on the city's major streets, but images of tangled electric wires on streets still haunt me. I see them as part of the urbanisation and modernisation process," Dan said.

To critic Nguyen Quan, the exhibition illustrates the painter's passion for the subject.

"Dan has spent much time and effort collecting materials to represent the Ha Noi streets," Quan said. "While the paintings of old rooftops by the late painter Bui Xuan Phai indicate ‘heritage' and paintings of colourful, showy streets are suitable for decorating living rooms and lobbies, I prefer the reality of Dan's work, which shows the painter's concern for the city," he said.

Electrifying: Artworks by Nguyen Ngoc Dan from his latest exhibition on Ha Noi's streets.

Born in 1972, the painter graduated from Ha Noi Fine Arts College in 1996. He has previously held exhibitions in Viet Nam and the Netherlands.

The exhibition will run until Wednesday at Viet Nam Culture and Arts Exhibition Centre, 2 Hoa Lu Street, Ha Noi.

Source: VNS