Special thanks to Zigzagger Saigon (Laurent Judge) for providing this gorgeous exhibition space as well as SON FM (Attiss Ngo and Nic Ford) and Liem Hieu for playing some amazing tunes, lifting the entire show to a whole new level.
In the Absence of God (1st Show)
66 Photographs from 'In the Absence of God' Zigzagger, Saigon (HCMC), Vietnam 2019
In the Absence of God presents the third chapter of the Nomansland-series. The Nomansland project was started in 2016 and initially inspired by motives of self-reflection towards overcoming mental health issues. In the Absence of God focusses more closely on the research and portrayal of personal trauma, caused by the codependent vicious circle of prejudice of social constructions such as countries, culture and religion. Constantly craving for the approval and love of others or greater beings, with very little work being done towards prioritising loving oneself and understanding oneself independently first, makes the answer of the question ‘Why do I feel incomplete?’ rather apparent. The project photographically explores the first step towards exploring and overcoming one’s own trauma by portraying ‘good and bad’ as equal concepts; trauma as part of everyone’s identity. The concepts of trauma and cultural codependency will be further elaborated in my upcoming ‘The Trauma of Society’ - Thesis.