San Diego, Boston, Berlin, Sydney, Hawaii, Paris, Ottawa, the Vietnamese Diaspora has established communities in every corner of the world. Some live their new lives as though they were still there, others preserve more of a distance to their lives before exile.  Since the reopening of the country, at the beginning of the 1990s, many of the Viet Kieu - as the people who left are called in their home country - have made the return journey.  However, many still shrink back from returning, from the confrontation between their memories and the reality of the country, from the rich of seeing their memories contradicted at every street corner, or of re-awakening other memories, carefully buried.

To see your country again, the earth and the water. To rediscover the might of the rain, the intensity of the green, the noise of the streets, the taste of the food, the scent of the herbs and spices.

As a child of refugee immigrants, our livelihood was built upon Pho shops and Restaurants. A meld of my upbringing, food, culture, land, and environment. I have fond memories of many birthday parties at my parent’s Pho restaurant as a kid in San Diego. This Stacked X Scape flattens moments and environments into a reimagined landscape.

* Sponsored by Nikon

PHOXSCAPE (Saigon Blue), 24x36", Photomontage, 2020

PHOXSCAPE (Cafe Plus Purple), 24x36", Photomontage, 2020

PHOXSCAPE (Neon), 24x36", Photomontage, 2020

PHOXSCAPE (King Neon), 24x36", Photomontage, 2020

PHOXSCAPE (Cơm Tấm Red), 24x36", Photomontage, 2020

PHOXSCAPE (Fifty Four Red,White,Blue), 24x36", Photomontage, 2020

PHOXSCAPE (Sasha Green), 24x36", Photomontage, 2020

PHOXSCAPE (Yummy Yellow,Red), 24x36", Photomontage, 2020