2016
Watercolor on Vietnamese silk backed on Cone denim
“Swim Good” is about the migration of Vietnamese political refugees after the fall of Saigon in 1975. Known as the “boat people“, they took their lives into their own hands, as they had took to the seas as a means to freedom.
The imagery I’ve used here is to invoke safety and calmness in the turbulence. The figure is lifting this traditional fishing boat known in Can Tho (my parents hometown) out of the raging waters. The head of the figure is in the shape of a sala flower. The sala flower is known in the Buddhist community as an auspicious sign. These flowers can blossom by the heat of your hands and will fall into your palms. One can only be so lucky to receive such a gift form nature.