Resurrection (Hồi Sinh)

Tia-Thuy Nguyen

2025

Knocked-down 70 year-old, 20m high Nacre tree during typhoon Yagi, stainless steel, quartz

H 900cm x ф 200cm

A site-specific installation

From demise to rebirth

Typhoon Yagi hit Hanoi on September 7th, 2024, leaving behind heavy losses, knocking down and breaking more than 25.000 trees in the inner city. Among them, a Nacre tree 70 year-old, about 20 meters high, fell.

In the face of such devastation, artist Tia-Thuy Nguyen saw another story - a story of revival. With a deep appreciation for the beauty of time and history, she created the artwork ‘Resurrection’: using the fallen trunk of the Nacre tree to convey the message: falling does not mean the end. From what seemed to have withered, a new form is reborn, carrying with it a vitality, a source of energy and a miraculous transformation.

The artwork ‘Resurrection’ is not only a fusion of art and nature, but also a profound reminder of the meaning of life - that in falling there always exists a miraculous ability to regenerate, just like the way nature has always been tolerant and enduring since time immemorial.

“When the tree is no longer standing there, it still retains its soul in countless ways. Energy is never lost, and the life cycle of nature is not shortened by external events”

Tia-Thuy Nguyen

Rugged beginnings, radiant becoming

First, 5mm thick stainless steel plates are hand-hammered, following the natural curve of the tree trunk; then mounted tightly, forming a variation of smooth surface and rough knots resembling the bark. Once completed, those steel plates become an iridescent shell that reflects when light shines on it. This outer metal layer turns into both the frame of the work while becoming the core of its new life.

The entire gilding process took 6.000 hours, using more than 6 tons of metal. With meticulous calculations of every corner, Tia-Thuy Nguyen and her colleagues demonstrate their efforts to push back the desolation of decay. She hopes to “capture” the movements oflight and shadow, making the work always changing, not repetitive.

The branches are shaped to simulate the natural curves and lush foliage. Thousands of shimmering steel leaves and colorful quartz “flowers” ​​ sing in the sunlight. Over time, the quartz absorbs the energy of the universe and circulates those energy currents to help calm the mind and wear away negative emotions.

Light. The playful partner

Light, in an unintentional moment, is “trapped” in Tia-Thuy Nguyen’s game - each steel leaf, each quartz “flower” reflects and sparkles every time a ray of sunlight falls on it. The game is like a continuous loop, day after day, but the viewer can never see two completely identical scenes. With her mischievousness and ingenious creativity, Tia-Thuy Nguyen has created a performance of nature. And this “show” will never end, because it is powered by the cyclical energy of the universe.

Through the seasons, trees don’t retain their leaves but let them fall, that tells the natural law of demise and rebirth, symbolizing the transformation of life