Traditional culture is not a decorative material, says artist

Each movement and gesture in tuồng has its own meaning, often derived from historical, mythological or cultural symbols. These gestures are used to convey emotions, actions and narrative elements without words.

Not just an innovation or a renovation, it is the artists’ new way of looking at tuồng in which co-creation plays an important role, not only within the framework of tradition, but also expanding to lands and cultural regions.

You have worked with Việt Nam Tuồng Theatre to produce performances before. How are your pieces generally received?

Each work has its own life, reflecting, adapting, creating new things and integrating into the diversity of the social scene.

We hope that through activities like talk sessions and open rehearsals, the audience can get closer to traditional artistic heritage in a more creative way.

That connection is not only through performing, but also through dialogue, experience and perception of cultural movements in a modern context.

Watching Mã: The Road to Nothingness, the audience will gain more experience in fiction, contemplation, the inspiration for discovery and local culture through movements.

The work will continue to be developed and will journey to other localities as well as international connections over the next few years.

You once shared that you had a strategy to create a flow of Vietnamese artwork. What are your next plans?

Since 2019, Lên Ngàn has focused on the activities of young artists and learned more about their artistic working circumstances, with the intention of promoting individual voices and developing indigenous materials. It will help to hold a dialogue with international artists aiming to create new works in the global art space.

In 2024, Lên Ngàn initiated a project to research and develop performing arts to connect young artists and the public to traditional Vietnamese theatre arts.

The project was initiated as an important milestone marking the collaboration between Lên Ngàn and the Việt Nam Tuồng Theatre.

Currently, traditional culture has been on the rise through songs, concerts and movies, creating a trend. What do you think about this trend?

This is a good sign, but we also need to be alert. Traditional culture should not be just decorative material. It should be deeply researched and reproduced with depth and context.

The path that I have chosen is to go from the core of the spirit, not just borrowing traditional images.

We want cultural heritage to be a part of the current experience, creating a ‘living heritage’.

Traditional art is evolving and moving. It should not be framed as static. When placed in creative appropriation with deep understanding and respect, heritage will be given new life — not by copying, but by being reborn through contemporary artistic thinking. VNS