HỒI SÓNG – A research and sound installation project by Nhung Nguyen & Zach Sch

Art project “Hồi Sóng”, consisting of archival study and sound installation by two Vietnam-based artists Nhung Nguyễn and Zach Sch, is available in both digital form at hoisong.art and physical form at Manzi Exhibition Space.

From the original intent of exploring the intangible cultural heritage, specifically the oral history documented in the historical archives, the artist duo adopts sound installation as their medium to explore the relationships between archived information and sound arts. Originally and spanning from the topics centered around the lives of soldiers and workers imported from French colonies in Africa and Vietnam, the project extends to historical brushstrokes of the peoples from Egypt, Algeria, Mali, Martinique and Indochina (composed of Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia) and their wartime assignments, living conditions, their feelings and memories reminisced 60 years after the end of World War II.

Accordingly, the installation work aims to juxtapose the archival materials from the said topics with music and sound designs. The artist duo assesses archives’ respective socio-cultural contexts and their attached literary and musical materials to architect the recordings. While Nhung focuses on the oral recordings, Zach places greater emphasis on sound experiments.

Presented at Manzi as a second physical counterpart to the online platform (the first installation was launched at Sàn Art, HCMC in 2021), our display will offer a thrilling reboot of the archive, inviting the audience to join us and tune in the sounds, immerse themselves in the radio installation and interact with artifacts of the dim and distant past hardly be told.