A popular Saigon flower shop’s charitable photo exhibition backfired when city authorities shut it down last weekend due to the use of banned material.
The sharp steel fencing was part of the decoration for an exhibition, Hoa Nơi Chiến Trường (Flowers on The Battlefield), which the shop, Flower Box, said was a crowd funding exercise to raise money for victims of Agent Orange, according to Tuoi Tre.
The shop repurposed pictures of armed soldiers and terrified civilians taken during the American War and photoshopped them, replacing tools of violence like guns and barbed wire with bouquets of flowers.
A shop representative said that from each sale made while the exhibition was up, VND50,000 would be donated to charities supporting Agent Orange victims.
Though meant to last from April 17 to May 8, the exhibition lasted only two days as city authorities, less than enthusiastic about the artwork, shut it down on April 19 citing the use of banned photos and the lack of an event permit.
The photos also drew criticism on local social networks. “There is no artistic value in this,” wrote one netizen. “To photoshop some flowers over heartrending pictures and then calling it art is ridiculous and obnoxious,” wrote another.
An investigation is being conducted to clarify whether the exhibition should be considered promotional fraud or an overtly political act.
[Top image via Nguoi Lao Dong]
