Vo
Living History
To understand Dahn Vo’s works, it is helpful to know something about his life, as his work combines personal stories with world history. Vo was four when his family escaped from Vietnam on a boat. The country was emerging from a fifteen-year war between North Vietnam, allied with Communist countries, and South Vietnam, supported by America. He and his family were discovered in the middle of the Pacific Ocean by a Danish ship, which took them to Copenhagen as political refugees. This and other personal stories emerge in Dahn Vo’s work, which often include documents, certificates and objects linked to his people and relatives. Dahn Vo doesn’t paint, draw nor sculpt: he appropriates objects created by others, which, once exhibited, become works of art. Each object, although it may seem banal at first sight, is filled with meaning and tells the story of religion, love, violence and war – in short, of all the relationships that exist between human beings.
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Living History
To understand Dahn Vo’s works, it is helpful to know something about his life, as his work combines personal stories with world history. Vo was four when his family escaped from Vietnam on a boat. The country was emerging from a fifteen-year war between North Vietnam, allied with Communist countries, and South Vietnam, supported by America. He and his family were discovered in the middle of the Pacific Ocean by a Danish ship, which took them to Copenhagen as political refugees. This and other personal stories emerge in Dahn Vo’s work, which often include documents, certificates and objects linked to his people and relatives. Dahn Vo doesn’t paint, draw nor sculpt: he appropriates objects created by others, which, once exhibited, become works of art. Each object, although it may seem banal at first sight, is filled with meaning and tells the story of religion, love, violence and war – in short, of all the relationships that exist between human beings.
