Return Engagements: Contemporary Art's Traumas of Modernity and History in Sai Gon and Phnom Penh

Viet Lê's Return Engagements explores the intersection of militarization, trauma, diaspora, and modernity in Southeast Asian art, highlighting artists tied to Phnom Penh and Sài Gòn and drawing on a range of visual art and documentary films. Artists strategically align their work with trauma and violence to reinvent aesthetics and discursive spaces, challenging categorizations of "diasporic" and "local" and disrupting dominant understandings of place, time, and belonging in contemporary art.

Format: Hardback
Length: 352 pages
Publication date: 11 June 2021
Publisher: Duke University Press

Artist and critic Viet Lê delves into the intricate relationship between militarization, trauma, diaspora, and modernity in contemporary art in Cambodia and Vietnam. Through his comprehensive examination, Lê highlights the works of artists associated with Phnom Penh and Saigon, drawing from a diverse array of visual art forms, including documentary and experimental films. He emphasizes that artists of Southeast Asian descent are frequently tasked with addressing the dual traumas of armed conflict and modernization, a challenge that manifests in their artistic expressions. Lê's analysis reveals that art on these themes holds significant value in international art markets, where the global art scene has developed a fascination with trauma and violence.

Artists, recognizing the power of these tropes, strategically align their work with them, enabling them to reimagine and redefine aesthetics and discursive spaces. By revisiting and reinterpreting these themes, artists like Tiffany Chung, Rithy Panh, and Sopheap Pich challenge established categorizations of "diasporic" and "local," positioning themselves as insiders and outsiders in relation to Cambodia and Vietnam. This disruption of dominant understandings of place, time, and belonging in contemporary art contributes to a more nuanced and complex portrayal of the region's artistic landscape.

Through his meticulous exploration, Viet Lê sheds light on the complex interplay between militarization, trauma, diaspora, and modernity, offering a fresh perspective on Southeast Asian art. His work encourages us to reconsider the ways in which these themes are expressed and interpreted, challenging us to engage with art on a deeper level and explore the multifaceted narratives that shape our understanding of the world.

Weight: 703g
Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781478010388