Vietnamese artist Linh San, currently participating in an artist-in-residence program in the Nishinari area, will present her residency works at Cafe Atariya starting from September 26.

Since arriving on August 12, Linh San has engaged with local people, creating new works now shown as an installation.

The exhibition “First watch: awaiting the Moon” features ceramics and drawings that evoke time through autumnal motifs, memory, and material transformation. Additional works will be unveiled from October 6.

Notice (Sept 25, Thu):
Due to exhibition installation, the 2F space of Cafe Atariya will be closed on Sept 25. The 1F café and exhibition area remain open and free to enter.

[Sept 26 (Fri) – Oct 13 (Mon)] Linh San Residency Exhibition
Title: Canh 1: Đợi trăng
First watch*: awaiting the moon

*According to traditional timekeeping in some Asian countries, night was split into five two-hour “watches” (kō 更), the first starting at 7 pm, the last ending at 5 am.

Living and engaging with the local community for over a month already, artist-in-residence Linh San has created a number of works based on her observations of life here and conversations she had with local people. First watch: awaiting the moon is an installation located on the second floor of Cafe Atariya, a nearly 95-year-old house located in the Sanno Harmonica Row Houses complex. The installation consists of three works, made of ceramics and drawing, each evoking time in its own way: Autumn persimmons, memories, and the transformation of matter.
The installation will be open from September 26 to October 13, with additional objects on display starting October 6. We look forward to welcoming you!
 

List of exhibited worksList of work as follow: 

— come into sight
Ceramic

A playful interaction by the artist unfolds around the house’s tokonoma area.

— overcast
Ink and ash on washi paper 

Developing from her previous work on memory and motherhood, the artist had conversations with several women she met here, asking them about the feelings, images, and memories they had of their mothers and grandmothers. These conversations unfolded through a process of back and forth translation: the artist posed the questions in English, which were then translated into Japanese by the assistant; the interviewees responded in Japanese, the assistant translated their words back into English, and the artist finally wrote them down in Vietnamese. These stories and memories were later gathered and “retranslated” by the artist, this time transformed into knitting diagrams.
These diagrams may function as faulty instructions, sometimes revealing no clear images. The work resembles a version of memory in which traces remain, yet without full clarity. Installed by the window and revealed in natural light, the piece appears and disappears throughout the day, shifting with the rhythm of the sun.

— 循 環 | circulation 
Ceramic

The word 循環 (circulation) conveys the idea that changing things and events will eventually repeat themselves. Taking inspiration from this word, the artist collected old timber from a century-old house under renovation nearby, burned it into ash, and then used the ash to create glaze for everyday ceramic wares. It is a cycle of matter: tree into wood, wood into house then ash, and ash into a glaze coating on daily objects. The transformation of past into present, continuation, but repetition, turning and returning like the spinning axle of a wheel.

The artist would like to thank Kazuko Matsumoto, Mayuko Matsuo, and Yu Tsutsumi (Kioku Shugei-Kan Tansu), as well as Yuki Nagai (festival staff) and Natsumi Kobayashi (Cocoroom’s intern), for sharing their stories, and Kitamura Daisaku and Minori Takaiwa for their assistance.

Linh San

A multidisciplinary artist based in Vietnam, she holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Hanoi University of Education and works across a wide range of media including poetry, video and ceramics. Her works depict poetic, simple and contemplative moments in everyday life.
Linh's literary works, often in the form of prose poems, reflect her constant flow of thoughts and images, connecting them to stories and emotions through her imagination. Her poems have been published in The Margins, Poetry Translation Centre, and various anthologies. Her short films have been screened at the German Cultural Center Hanoi, Thai Nguyen University, and the National Museum of Indonesia, among others. In 2022, she will hold her first solo exhibition, "no longer holding a cloud," at Á Space in Hanoi. In ceramics, she seeks to expand the boundaries of expression beyond traditional forms through dialogue with materials. Her ceramic works explore the potential of clay, combine it with other materials, and examine the transformations of techniques and materials. In 2023, she received the Prince Claus Seed Award for Emerging Artists.

Artist page here