Beata America, Curator of The Other Side of Now, introduces us to the American/Vietnamese artist Tuấn Andrew Nguyễn, whose exhibition features three films, currently on view at Zeitz MOCAA.
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Beata explains that one of Tuấn Andrew Nguyễn’s films, The Specter of Ancestors Becoming, reflects on Vietnamese who migrated to Senegal and now have no connection to their origins. Museum Director, Koyo Kouoh, with her connections in Senegal, was the link that brought The Other Side of Now to Zeitz MOCAA. She wanted to have Tuấn on the continent and in South Africa to tell these important stories linking Vietnam, Morocco and Senegal.
The works are quite speculative in nature. His work is a mixture between fact and fiction. The core is rooted in real people. Then there is a speculative aspect to imagine a different future. Beata explains that this is how they arrived at the title The Other Side of Now – imagining what is on the other side.
The exhibition presents three film works: Because No One Living Will Listen / Nguoi Song Chang Ai Nghe (2023), The Specter of Ancestors Becoming (2019), and The Unburied Sounds of a Troubled Horizon (2022).
Because No One Living Will Listen is a 10 minute film that sets the scene. Beata refers to this as the Moroccan Chapter, followig a woman making physical connections to home – trying to write to her father and making physical connections to home. “A need and yearning for home”.
Nguyễn refers to the ‘choreography’ of his films and Beata tells us that there are three narratives relating to the past and present, flashbacks – different ways of evoking memories through things passed down to you by your family. How do we think about the past and connect with the future.
Sound is another important issue – the use of gongs and singing bowls. Materials used include materials of war, which he uses to symbolise peace. The gongs have a healing frequency and you are invited to interact.
The last film, The Unburied Sounds of a Troubled Horizon, is 60 minutes long, so please be prepared to spend time at The Other Side of Now. This is an engaging, multi-dimensional experience that captivates and intrigues. ENJOY!
WHAT: Tuấn Andrew Nguyễn – The Other Side of Now
WHERE: Zeitz MOCAA, Silo District, V&A Waterfront, Cape Town 8001
WHEN: Closes 20 July 2025
TICKETS: Webtickets
INFO: E communications@zeitzmocaa.museum | VISIT | See also Tuấn Andrew Nguyễn – The Other Side of Now – Zeitz MOCAA
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