Upstream water
Performance by Phụ Lục (Nguyễn Huy An, Ngô Thành Bắc, Vũ Đức Toàn)2022
Städelschule, Frankfurt, Germany
Video editing by Phạm Nguyễn Anh Tú, first shown at Tương tương ngộ ngộ cá kho tộ, ngộ ngộ tương tương đậu kho tương mini film festival (Á Space, 2023) as part of There are situations that make us forget about the condition screening curated by Vũ Đức Toàn
“On the last day before the “gold card*” expires. We decided to take a day trip to the upper reaches of the Fulda River to cool off, to swim, to relieve stress, whatever. During the months of preparing for the work, we encountered a lot of problems, so we started swearing and swearing more. It is a very cold water, upstream should be very tight. We only lasted a few minutes before we had to climb ashore because of the cold water. This happiness is short-lived, but it is something really meaningful for the European trip. Before going back, each of us took a bottle of water upstream that we didn't know if we would use it but obviously now it is a very easy and popular tactic in the way art is made now… Luckily it was used to fill a cup on a conference room table at an art university in Frankfurt.”
(*) a special card for participating artists of Documenta.
(*) a special card for participating artists of Documenta.
Last updated: 06/09/2025 — subject to continuous revision