Through a hard and brittle material like ceramic, could one possibly realize the limberness of the human body? To answer this question, Creative Director Hà Đỗ, with assistance from Bát Tràng Museum, has come to create a unique ceramic art piece in the image of supermodel icon Thanh Hằng, specifically the long statuesque legs that she is so esteemed for.
[Ô: The Body of Art]
Time: 10AM – 9PM, 8.12 – 11.12.2023
Location: Union Square Building B2 Floor, 53 Lê Thánh Tôn Street, Bến Nghé Ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City
This was not the first time Bat Trang Museum received such an odd commission. 13 years ago, the founder of the museum, the late Vũ Thắng had also birthed a similar work, a collection of twelve ceramic boots that was later displayed in the 2022 exhibition, THE BÁT TRÀNG CERAMIC BOOTS: AN INSPIRATION FROM ITALY. Another strange work of his is the ceramic prosthetic leg, which the National Artisan especially tailored for para-athlete Nguyễn Thị Thủy in one of her photoshoots in 2015. It is these moments that mark the beginning of Bát Tràng Museum’s journey of unearthing the fascinating ties between fashion and ceramic art. As the son of the late Artisan – Vũ Kháng Tùng puts it, ‘The harder the assignment, the more excited the inner artistic spirit of the ceramist becomes’.
And now, once more did the woman behind these peculiar ‘assignments’ of a decade ago come forth to request the atelier another bizarre piece of work. In organizing [Ô: The Body of Art], it is Creative Director Hà Đỗ herself who conceived and erected the art piece using the material she sourced from Bát Tràng. Not only is this material primarily used to create the renowned pottery of the village, but it is also traditionally utilized in Vietnam’s civil engineering and household goods manufacturing. This choice of material was her way of expressing the love and pride she had for her cherished motherland. With her experience overseeing past commissions and being directly involved in the design process of a similar art project back in early 2023, Hà Đỗ decided to personally tell her stories through the ceramic of Bát Tràng.
Harmony in inspirations drawn from fashion and the chosen materials, combined with the trust and expertise in the third collaboration between Hà Đỗ and Bát Tràng Museum, has led to the recreation of the iconic 1.2-meter-long legs of Thanh Hằng — the woman who has shaped much of the current beauty standards in the Vietnamese fashion industry. ‘In this field, the legs have a symbolic value to them. What I wanted was an artistic representation of what I do — The Creative Director said when talking about her vision for the objet d’art. Although a model’s lower limbs are not exactly their most important body parts, ‘they are far from the least. The frame, the face, the eyes, everything has its role to play.’
For both Hà Đỗ and Bát Tràng Museum, [Ô: The Body of Art] is not just an exhibition, but it is also a statement: Each work of art is a creation by human hands, with every individual being a unique, one-of-a-kind opus. Just as the Creative Director takes pride in her ability to mold the rough substance into something new of supple elegance, then so too do the artisans of Bát Tràng find joy in the captivating challenge they were given: Creating a near identical replica of a beauty icon using ceramic and signature jade-colored glaze of Bát Tràng Museum, all done in a record-breaking time.
It is from the delicate curves and fragile sturdiness of the piece that a new mode of expression for physical beauty emerges. When coupled with the contours of fabric, the human body becomes a work of art in a literal sense, unveiling the perpetual values of fashion, that which simply cannot be perceived with the naked eye: the relaxed yet confident figure of a person, the strong personality reflected, the artistic spirit and the inheritance of culture. ‘Creativity knows no borders” — Vũ Khánh Tùng adds — “It’s as if this old-fashioned material received a modern makeover with the advance of technology, which gives a rise to a plethora of fresh new experiences for any beholder.”
