HCMC Museum of Fine Arts

Last weekend, I visited the museum of fine arts in district 1 and had chance to view some inspirational paintings. I was lucky as there was a competition going on and many talented artists put their portraits to compete with each other. I took some photos -could not resist even though I knew it was not right- so that I can write a few words under each paintings from my own personal world.

Here are the best ones I chose and my brief comments:

Painting by Tran Quoc Tuan

Sporadic words from me: I am in a desert where directions do not make sense. The rooms we were born in, the rooms we will die in. But in a desert, every point is a good point to die because there is no meaning in the word of location. The sand dunes constantly shift their positions and heights, the sand flows like water beneath your feet. The mirages are created on the pristine surfaces and each of the reflections on the sand goes in different direction. It seems I am all of them but at the same time I am none of them. Life continues in other lands and I am just lost in the sea of sands, in the labyrinth of rooms. While moving from one peak to another peak in order to find the best point for drinking tea and watching the moon, you will soon realize that the desert is nothing more than an infinite tessellation. It just repeats and repeats in all directions. Saying this, one should notice that every house is a labyrinth and every labyrinth carries a desert inside...

Painting by Nguyen Hoang Dung

Sporadic Words from me: I have escaped from the jaws of the city and I have reunited with my inner peace. The fan in my hand does not have the wind blades but still I feel cool when I hold it in my hands. It is partly because the fan itself is a cool object. When I touch it, the coolness from the metal flows into my vessels and change my atmosphere from head to toe. It is also because of the idea of freedom is centered inside my heart where I have all the secrets. My eyes are the gates towards those secrets but I keep them closed.

Painting by Nguyen Hoang Giang

Sporadic words from me: Being a woman in this city, being a woman with a mask in this city, being a woman with a mask in this city and being tortured... Life is unfair to me and I am unfair to myself. The more they put on me, the more I enjoy sacrificing from my own soul. This is what we have been taught since childhood. Do not reveal your pain, do not reveal your identity, do not show the signs of weakness. If you happen to show your weakness, make sure it represents the power of the others.

Painting By Nguyen Bao Ngoc

Sporadic words from me:

I want to be a machine, I want to be a machine... Truuum, truuuum, truuum, trak tiki tak, I want to be a machine. (Nazim Hikmet Ran)

One side of me is an angel, flies in the sky between the clouds. The other side is a machine, greasy gears and turbines. But you might think my angel side is more merciful than my machine side. Absolutely not! I want to be a machine so that there will be no space in my soul for anything more than necessary. Compassion, mercy, grace, helping others, care etc are deadly diseases. The more we get stuck into them, the more we are getting far from our selfish genes. We are here to destroy anything and anybody who is standing in front of us. Therefore, why pity those who are poor and weak. In the world of machines, there is no waiting, no tolerance... Here I have started the big metamorphoses. It will continue till I become a full machine. Then I will travel in the universe and spread the word of truth, the only word which is supposed to exist. That is 'I".

Painting by Ha Hay Muoi

Sporadic words from me: I am melting. Like a cube of ice turns to water when the heat strikes, I am melting into another being. The drops from my flesh do not apart from my body. They just extend towards the soil, makes connection to drain my blood. It is going down drop by drop, second by second, life is getting away from me. However, I have no complaints. I lived a life, full of satisfaction. I became a vulture when I wanted, became a fox when I needed, became a blood sucking spider when I am required to be a monster. My destiny is the destiny of winners. I won and now I am moving to the next level.