An exhibition, called “ Riverscapes In Flux”, opened in the Vietnam Fine Arts Museum in Hanoi on Apr. 12. Organised by the Goethe Institute in Hanoi , the exhibition showcases the works of 17 young artists from Vietnam , Thailand , Myanmar , Cambodia , Indonesia and the Philippines .

The institute’s Director, Meyer Zollitsch, said that the exhibition highlights the key ecological issues in Southeast Asia . In their work the artists reflect the ecological as well as socio-economic and cultural changes that the rivers in these countries are currently experiencing.

Four of the artists who have works on display are Vietnamese. Nguyen The Son from Hanoi took a series of photos of particularly sensitive areas of the Red River and Luong Hue Trinh’s sound installation focuses on the ecological consequences of the intensive economic exploitation of the Mekong River .

Phan Thao Nguyen from Ho Chi Minh City concentrates on the fishing industry along the Mekong River . Using sound, photographs and video clips, some shot by the fishermen themselves, his work documents the ecological as well as social and cultural impact of industrialisation in the Mekong delta. Nguyen Thi Thanh Mai from Hue reflects on the victims of the devastating floods in Hue in 1999, with her installation of 60 wooden boxes containing objects found along the Huong River , such as shoes and sandals.

The exhibition will be open to the public from April 12-29 in Hanoi and from May 12-26 in Ho Chi Minh City . It will then tour Thailand , Cambodia and the Philippines.-VNA