‘Into Darkness’ is the outcome of Kim Thu’s continuous experimentation in combining Japanese Washi with Vietnamese Dzo paper, and line drawing with lighting. The project-in-progress started in 2013 with Kim Thu’s residency at Mino Paper Art Village (Mino, Japan) where she learnt the art of Washi and lantern. It later developed into a light installation at her 2014 residency at Sapporo Artist in Residence Program (Hokkaido, Japan). The artist’s 2015 experimentation with the project at ECO Art Project (Muong Art Studio, Hoa Binh, Vietnam) saw her including elements of space and light design.

“My world is a miniature world. It consists of landscape, nature, architecture and abstract mark making and line drawing. It forms a three-dimensional map, possibly of a city, possibly an imaginary one. These images change as I arrive at a new destination, and as my personal experience and impression of that place begin to form. As a traveler, I navigate a new city by synthesizing its repeated forms, fragmentations, and architectural spaces with memory and observation. I reimagine the place in the form of a map and with my personal visualization. I start with one small detail by creating a mark – one that never stops spreading outwards. And from there, the city keeps growing and growing…”

*The exhibition is supported by the Cultural Development and Exchange Fund (CDEF) of the Danish Embassy.