Through installations and animated films, Quế traces the flow of water as they move through personal memories and collective histories, carrying generational trauma amidst urbanization, and even natural disaster.
Water exists everywhere: within our bodies, in rivers and oceans that surround us; it is often considered the essential source of life. Yet, when water is no longer calm and clear, and seeps into every single aspect of our existence, what kind of life remains now?
Originally from Đà Nẵng, artist and art producer Quế (Nguyễn Đức Hùng) once lived along the Nhiêu Lộc–Thị Nghè canal in Bình Thạnh district after he moved to Saigon for work. Observing and absorbing everything around him, he began to question how locals manage to sustain their life near the canal, which is well known for its severe pollution. His interest towards “water and what is found in water” led him to artistic practice of engaging with personal and collective memory and history, labor conditions and urbanization. Working across photography, moving images, animation and installation, his works have been developed and presented in art residencies such as Á Space (Hanoi), Leipzig International Art Program (Leipzig, Germany), A.Farm International Art Residency (Saigon), Artist-in-Residence Vietnam Network (Hanoi), and various exhibitions and screening events.
A fish tank, ‘Water permeates through the divine’ (2024), is filled halfway with water and glows in a darkened space. Developed during his residency at A.Farm International Art Residency (Saigon), the installation resembles what the artist describes as “a pixel of mud, water and anything that belongs to the river,” featuring mud collected from the Nhiêu Lộc–Thị Nghè canal. Inside the tank, particles slowly drift and separate under the aurora-like green light, where everything seems transparent and detached despite the polluted water. The work reveals a paradox of something beautiful, yet toxic — an isolated fish tank but without fish, where life cannot be sustained.
‘Water permeates through the divine,’ 2024. Glass tank, mud, water, and anything that belongs to the river, plexiglass, single-channel video.
In contrast, ‘Into purified water’ (2025) was developed as a part of his open studio during his residency at Leipzig International Art Program (Leipzig, Germany). This time, the water remains clear enough that one can view the video work of animated ants projected through the water against the wall, thanks to Germany’s trusted purified water system. Tracing the migration and labor histories of Vietnamese communities in Germany, combined with the artist’s observation on the rise of xenophobia and racism happening in Germany during his residency, a critical question emerges: at what cost would individuals or communities go in pursuit of “filtered” water in a distant promised land?
Quế’s interest in water goes beyond environmental conditions, turning towards the body as a site of inheritance. His experience living by the canal led him to question how children grow up in such environments, and why they fall ill easily, both physically and mentally. This returns to the artist’s personal upbringing, where he considers water in human bodies as a metaphor for transmission and inheritance: carrying life, memory, and familial memories. What is often understood as “heritage” passed down across generations, unfortunately, is inseparable from inherited traits and generational trauma.
‘Elles’ (2024) comprises a series of works that confronts one’s personal memories and inherited generational trauma. In a video installation, the artist himself lies still as the water drips steadily onto his head, until its weight intensifies and becomes unbearable over time. Resembling the image of his mother taking a siesta, the accumulating pressure and headache evokes physical and psychological pain that a woman goes through for many years. As the artist notes, “the stream of water is the violent impact of the man in the family,” and by placing himself in this position, he aims to “let the memory be implicitly voiced.” As the human body is largely composed of water, the materials in his works serve literally and metaphorically: as a carrier of traits passed from mother to child across generations and beyond, and as an imagined conduit where memory and trauma persists.
(Right) ‘Elles,’ 2024. Two-channel video installation, sound & scent installation.
(Left) ‘Elles,’ 2017 - 2022. Digital image.
Another highlight of Quế’s artistic practice is his animated films, in which he takes a deep dive into research on Vietnamese animation and propaganda posters. Instead of featuring human elements as main characters, he chooses a non-human approach: through the perspectives of mosquitoes and ants. While exploring the history of the house at No. 23 Châu Long Street (Hanoi), which survived through the Indochina wars, Quế attempted to interview locals living in the neighbourhood, but did not seem to get the answers he was looking for. At the same time, he found himself surrounded by mosquitoes near a canal. ‘Healthy diseases with water’ (2024) features a mosquito and the ghostly presence of a French monologue inside the house. One line in the film reads: “I forgot everything, the war made me the parent of so many children that I no longer remember, who don't even exist to see the sun.” It speaks to an extreme trauma and history that now seems almost nonexistent — something left unsaid, perhaps too overwhelming for one to fully comprehend.
Film stills of ‘Healthy diseases with water,’ 2024. Animated film. Duration: 7 minutes.
Meanwhile, ‘The ant and the rice grain’ (2026) takes direct reference from the original animated film of the same title Con kiến và hạt gạo by Nguyễn Thế Hội in 1976. The film follows a small ant on duty, reporting an approaching heavy storm to the colony, and ensuring that all others evacuate first before returning to the nest to carry his own rice grain. However, unlike the original version’s happy ending, the storm arrives and the flood sweeps away everything in its way. In the works’ description, Quế explained: “Throughout the process, my obsessions with water, storms and floods, hydroelectric dams, and dead bodies of ants floating in the kitchen sink and water containers at home emerged as reminders of the misfortunes endured by Vietnamese people.”
Film stills of ‘The ant and the rice grain,’ 2026. Animated film. Duration: 10 minutes.
Installation view of ‘Water, Ant, and Rice Grain’ (2026) in collaboration with Huế as part of the Solo Marathon 2025 program at Á Space (Hà Nội).
Mosquitoes are known as disease transmitters in stagnant water, and the mosquito “exploding” and collapsing at the end of the film signifies the helplessness and the weight of trauma carried throughout history. Meanwhile, ants are considered extremely hard-working even under dangerous conditions, yet they can be swept away by a forceful flow of water, in a situation where evacuation or migration remains impossible. The film recalls the disastrous 2025 Central and Northern Vietnam flood and how the situation was poorly handled, which took place at the same time Quế was making the work. Both films employ non-human elements of mosquitoes and ants as the main imagery, pointing to natural causes that are largely shaped by human-made factors. One film dwells on the forgotten histories of a house that survived through wars, the other one reflects on the vulnerable and collective struggles against environmental catastrophe today.
Open studio ‘Nature on the roof’ (2024) in Hà Nội, in collaboration with Saya Nguyễn. Organized by Artist-in-Residence Vietnam Network (AiRViNe).
Water embodies adaptability, resilience, and fluidity, and yet, it can be violent and carry everything in its path. In Quế’s works, what appears as personal and collective memories of generational trauma and urbanized living environment are deeply intertwined with bigger structural conditions shaped by inequality and social mobility: who gets to migrate and access “purified” water, and who is unfortunately left behind amidst disaster. No longer just “a source of life,” water links heritage, human well-being, and environmental instability together, revealing power dynamics along with slow violence, and questions how we can sustain our own vulnerable lives while navigating cultural norms and changing landscapes today.
Photos courtesy of Quế (Nguyễn Đức Hùng).
