Who recently passed away

Viet Nam News by Kiều Bích Hương “New customers are coming, dad!” Demi called excitedly. Noel frowned, put a pile of bills into the drawer, rearranged his shirt collar, straightened its hems, and walked out. The sunshine outdoors dazzled him, preventing him from seeing the customers clearly. Yet he caught Demi’s excitement. Later, after the customers left, he must scold her, Noel thought. Of course customers meant business, which was good. But they mustn’t wear their gladness on their faces like that when another person had passed away. Three middle-aged chaps with burly bodies and distraught faces were standing wearily before Noel. Demi eagerly fetched some drinking water. Noel stretched out his hand toward the stoutest man to invite him to sit down. The tallest one nodded to greet Noel then went out to answer his phone. The remaining one, the youngest, thrust his hands into his pockets, and anxiously walked around Noel’s office … [Read more...] about A note for someone who has passed away

Viet Nam News HÀ NỘI — In Marianne Smolska’s new series entitled Phù Du (Ephemeral), delicate monochrome motifs of skulls, wilted flowers, brambles, roots and chrysalises intertwine with embroidery on handmade Lao and Vietnamese paper. Her solo exhibition is ongoing at the Đông Phong Gallery at 3 Lý Đạo Thành Street, Hà Nội. Inspired by David Bowie’s death, this ballpoint series is a reflection on the frailness of life, the passing of time, the inescapable aging of the body and the wounds of bereavement that have to be tended, nursed and even stitched up. The bare threads, fragile lifelines, webs or seams, sometimes caught in brambles, seem to seek to capture a pattern before it disappears. And when they are simply stretched or suspended, these strands seem to weave links between worlds—the world in which the artist lives, Việt Nam, and the one from which she comes, France, but also between … [Read more...] about French artist uses Vietnamese paper and embroidery to heal the wound