A colourful work by Claire Xuan at the exhibition (Photo courtesy of L'Espace) Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - Frenchvisual artist Claire Xuan is giving Hanoi art lovers a unique exhibitionwith an olfactory journey.
Entitled ASAÉS – TheUniverse of Flavors, the exhibition is an artistic concept that Xuanhas brought to many countries such as France, Morocco, Japan, China andLaos.
ASAÉS recreates five flavours: bitter (Amer),sweet (Sucré), sour (Acide), spicy (Epicé) and salty (Salé).
The exhibition offers a journey to discover thevisual beauty and unique scents extracted from natural materials such asflowers, fruits, herbs and wood.
These flavours are used not only in cuisineand the perfume industry, but also in religious practices, especiallythose of the Asian people which the artist greatly appreciates.
“The exhibition will not simply be aboutphotography but will be my completely new photography experiment,” said artistXuan.
"I hope that this experiment also helps meto come back closer to my study of visual art and painting.”
Instead of printing the photos on paper, she chose canvas made fromcotton fibre.
“We all know that the canvas is a materialcommonly used in oil paintings," she said. "The cotton fibrehighlights the pixels. It will help my photographic works bring a completelydifferent visual experience.”
As an artist with Vietnamese roots, Xuanhas expressed her interest in Asian philosophies and the theory of thefive elements, which is the inspiration and connection point of her creations.
The artist selected her fatherland tolaunch the ASAÉS project and celebrate the 20th anniversary of thepublication of her first book, titled Vietnam and The FiveElements with Elements d’édition publishing house.
The content of the photos is inspired by theartist’s travels to the countryside. She has compiled photos from trips toVietnam, Laos, China, Japan, Morocco and southern France where she takesphotos of landscapes, plants and flowers.
“The gentle images of that nature, if were-arrange them according to an intention or an imagination they willbring a new visual effect full of soul,” said Xuan. “Viewers can receive bothcultural and heritage experiences in these works.”
Visitors will have the opportunity to admire thefull set of works which the artist has introduced for the first time.
In addition to the visual works, visitors canexperience different smells through a series of small jars created specificallyfor the exhibition. They can guess the unique scents selected by the artistfrom natural materials.
The exhibition will runs until June 30 atL'Espace French Cultural Centre, 24 Trang Tien, Hanoi.-VNS/VNA
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