999 - 9 clouds, cloud 9 and the fundamental f(s).. can’t
translate in mother language but it’s gonna rain cats and
dogs, climate, clime, climax
999 - 9 tang may, may tang 9 va nhung chu éphờ co ban..
khong dich ra tieng me de duoc nhung mua se nhu trut
nuoc, khi hau, vung khi hau, cuc diem
2019
installation
nine beanbeds of mixed synthetic fabrics, LED lights.
999 - 9 clouds, cloud 9 and the fundamental f(s).. can’t translate in mother language but it’s gonna rain cats and dogs, climate, clime, climax 999 - 9 tang may, may tang 9 va nhung chu éphờ co ban.. khong dich ra tieng me de duoc nhung mua se nhu trut nuoc, khi hau, vung khi hau, cuc diem
the soft, mountainous sculpture exudes a tactile and alluring sensuousness: an exercise in restraint for its viewer who can look, but can’t touch. it is a picture of both fantasy and fallacy, for to start its climb would collapse the structure, destroying the image. the temptation of climax leaves the viewer looking up, the glow of pink neon illuminating their face as though they were the heart- eyed emoji staring with blind adoration. cloud 9 represents this peak of pleasure, orgasm and desire that is made unattainable by Cam Xanh, who teases instead with the unfulfilled promise of bliss. the work asks how far we might go to achieve what we desire, and what might cloud our judgement in the decisions we make to get there. its heavenly aesthetic dissipates and reforms as a bulging cumulonimbus cloud, threatening a beastly and nonsensical storm of cats, dogs and ideology. the poem of the fundamental f(s) falls and scatters across cloud 9, starting the rain.
the fundamental f(s)
for future of..
fabulous
fashionable
funky
feminist
freedom
fairness
foolish
fantastical
fairytale
the poem is left to continue in the mind of the audience, ending differently for everyone. it asks us to choose our own core beliefs, and encourages us to question what the f we believe in. as an artist Cam Xanh seeks to defy easy categorisation, and her pseudonym translated as Green Orange highlights this sense of the uncanny that she often seeks to employ in her works. through her art she makes the familiar appear strange and vice versa, invites misunderstanding, and reminds us that sometimes nothing is ever quite what it seems. as a woman her work is frequently approached through a feminist lens, yet she calls her work ‘anti-feminist feminist art’, and rejects classification as a feminist artist in the same way she would like us to reject the domination of any single ideology. Cam Xanh doesn’t attempt just one expression in her artwork, but embraces multiplicity, creating works layered with meaning that solicit a plurality of understandings…
The work was part of MoT Doi Gai | A Beach Life is the culmination of Cam Xanh’s close studio in the MoT+++ space.
Often known as the world’s oldest profession, Cam Xanh’s MoT Doi Gai | A Beach Life explores the theme of prostitution at a conceptual level. starting with a quote from Gore Vidal that “we are all prostitutes in one sense or another, ethically if not sexually”, the exhibition goes on to investigate the contemporary relationships between feminism, love and sexuality, art, beauty, power, economics, and the potential for exploitation that emerges at their intersections.