“From Now on” 從現在開始 (Bắt đầu từ nay/ 不漏洞拉) A Solo Exhibition by Vicky DO 杜薇個人展覽
Exhibition period: 3rd – 24th June 2017.06.03-25 | 4:00 – 6:00pm
(Please Scroll down for English Version) 從現在開始 (Bắt đầu từ nay/ 不漏洞拉) 杜薇個人展覽
展期: 6月3日至25日
展覽策劃人：林建才、李繼忠、忻慧妍
展覽開覽及影片首映 2017年6月3日 | 下午4:00 – 6:00 杜薇首個個人展覽以明確的標題《從現在開始》（Bắt đầu từ nay/不漏洞拉）構成複雜的關係與歷史現象的矩陣。自2014年以來，杜氏對邊緣化和居住於香港當地社區的越南人生活進行長期的民族志研究，透過應用不同的電影語言為難民問題制塑造社會政治敘述。
八十年代末至九十年代初期在香港公共廣播中的一句「從現在開始」，不單為越南難民危機提供了強大的文化和歷史背景，後來更一直在流行文化（電視直播綜藝節目和戲劇）中經常出現。「從現在開始」成為了一個隱喻，意味著一個偏離的身份 — 一群逃離戰爭和遷離自己國家的人，即使到達一個相對安全的地方，但無法安定居住。當時，這個過於簡單化的「越南難民」或「越南船民」的身分讓公眾容易把握「被邊緣化的他性」的觀念；然而，這種偏離社會身分與其不穩定和短暫性沒有充分地在公共領域內被討論，結果每次出現另一個全球難民問題的時候，「自我」與「他者」的極端對立都如鬼魅般浮現。
杜氏不會片面地去記錄她的主題，她充分意識到自己的根源以及作為一名研究型藝術家的身份，並創作了一系列的作品去回應文化身分認同，以及定義它的權力關係和她跟當權者交涉經驗。
《從現在開始》包括杜氏在過去幾年創作的影像論文、錄像裝置、訪談、研究和檔案資料。
1. From Now On — 一個30分鐘的個人影像論文（將在開幕中放映） 從現在開始試圖追溯到香港越南難民的歷史以及難民危機的政治與困境之間的關係，以及當下香港對越南國民的移民政策。
2. Some-one | No-one — 錄像裝置 這個作品以外來者的觀點探討「難民」的定義。法律判決，社會認可或拘留營？錄像裝置包含了香港市民，警察和越南人的評論。
3. Skyluck — 錄像裝置 1979年2月，一艘來自越南名叫Skyluck的船隻，運載了2700名中越兩國人民抵達香港，但不允許下船。經過漫長的司法交涉，難民們不願意留在船上，從而作出種種絕望的行為，導致後來的國際人道主義事件和討論。杜氏將這一件歷史事件與Skyluck作為意識形態和人口流動性的比喻，並跟她在香港的個人經驗重疊。
4. Don’t ask! —錄像裝置 Don’t ask! 是杜氏與香港入境事務主任進行虛構的對話。作品是基於杜氏在過去兩年裡試圖申請工作簽證時遇到一名入境處官員。她透過譏諷的手法揭示了檢查，判決和階級三位一體的權力關係。
一個名為「星期五聚會」的活動將在展覽期間每個星期五舉行。詳情將會於社交媒體公佈。
關於藝術家
杜薇出生於西貢，她是一位專注於靜態和動態影像的媒體藝術家。她用藝術作為她對生命的回應。杜氏以故事和影像作為調查的一種形式去保存歷史和檔案。她對城市規劃的政治性，國家領土及其與人口流動的關係感興趣，即是流亡問題。她認為自己是一個社會運動參與者，用視頻來暴露暴力和荒謬，並透過書籍作為社會重建工具。她正在翻譯一個位於西貢的薩米茲達風格（秘密出版物）出版社，其中包括中越關係著作，射象（佐治奧・威爾），政治與英語（佐治奧・威爾）等。無論是共產主義者還是無政府主義者，她都可以在一定程度上容忍這兩者。 杜氏於2016年獲香港城市大學創意媒體學院授予美術碩士學位。目前，她是一電影製片人兼研究員。
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“From Now on” (Bắt đầu từ nay/ 不漏洞拉) A Solo Exhibition by Vicky DO
Curated by: LAM Kin Choi, LEE Kai Chung, Winnie YAN Wai Yin
Exhibition period: 3rd – 24th June 2017
Opening Reception and premiere screening Saturday 3rd June, 2017 | 4:00 – 6:00pm
Vicky DO’s first solo exhibition poses a matrix of complex relations and historical phenomenon through a perspicuous title - “From Now on” (Bắt đầu từ nay/ 不漏洞拉). Since 2014, Do conducts a long-term ethnographical research on the life of both marginalized Vietnamese and those who are integrated into the local community in Hong Kong. She employs a distinct filmic vocabulary to create socio-political narratives on refugee issues. By referring to a constantly heard public announcement on radio during the late 80s until early 90s in Hong Kong, the phrase “From Now on” provides a unique cultural and historical context for the Vietnamese refugee crisis: apart from the fact that the phrase had been quoted frequently in popular culture (TV live variety shows and drama) even since then, “From Now on” became a metaphor signifying an identity of deviance for a group of people who escaped from war, abandoned their country to fled for life and take abode in a presumably safer place without securing any safety. By that time, an over-simplistic category of “Vietnamese refugee” or “Vietnamese boat people” allowed general public to easily grasp the concept of a marginalized otherness. However, instability and temporality of such deviant social identity was not thoroughly discussed in the public sphere. As a result, the conflict between “the self” and “the other” reappears like a phantom once another global refugee issue is brought to the table. Do, our artist, does not document her subjects from outside. She is fully aware her origin, also from Vietnam, and her position as a research-based artist. She develops a series of work responding to cultural identity, the power relations that define it and her personal encounter with the authority.
“From Now On” includes a video essay, video installations, interviews, research and archival materials, which have been developed by Do in the last few years.
1. From Now On -- a 30-minute personal video essay (to be screened at the opening) From Now On attempts to trace back to the history of Vietnamese refugees in Hong Kong and the relationship between the politics and dilemma of refugee crisis with the correspondent immigration policy of Hong Kong towards Vietnamese nationals today.
2. Some-one | No-one — video installation The work takes an extrovert perspective to explore what have been constituting the definition of “refugee”. Legal judgement, social recognition or the detention camps? The video installation features commentary by Hong Kong citizen, policemen and Vietnamese.
3. Skyluck — video installation In February 1979, Skyluck, a vessel departing from Vietnam that carried 2,700 Chinese and Vietnam people, arrived Hong Kong but its passengers was not allowed to disembark. After a long period of statemane, the refugees were reluctant to stay on the vessel and consequently set out an act of desperation, which later led to an international humanitarian incident and discussion. Do aligns this historical event with her personal experience in Hong Kong, and takes Skyluck as a metaphor of ideology and mobility.
4. Don’t ask! — video installation Don’t ask! is a fictional conversation with a Hong Kong Immigration officer. It is based on Do’s encounter with an officer when she tried to apply working Visa in the last two years. The work exposes the relationship between examination, judgement and hierarchy. Somehow, Do put the power relations with an undertone and sardonic manner.
An event called “Friday Gathering” will be held every Friday during the exhibition period. Details will be announced on social media soon.
About the artist
Vicky DO (or Vi, in Vietnamese), born in Saigon, is a media artist focusing on both still and moving images. She uses art as a response to and alongside her life journey. Vicky works with stories and images as a form of historic preservation, archival, and investigation. She’s interested in the politics of urban planning, national territory and their relationship with the human flow, aka, exodus. She considers herself an activist-videographer, exposing violence and absurdity; and using books as a tool for social-reconstruction. She’s been translating documents for a Saigon-based samizdat publishing house, including monographs about Sino-Vietnamese relationship, Shooting an Elephant (George Orwell), Politics and English language (George Orwell) and so on. Neither a communist nor an anarchist, she tolerates both to a certain extent. DO was awarded Master of Fine Arts from the School of Creative Media, the City University of Hong Kong in 2016. She is currently working as a filmmaker and researcher.
