Nguyễn Thị Thanh Mai

Nguyễn Thị Thanh Mai (b. 1983, Hanoi) works with materials and memories that prompt sensorial and empathic responses. Whether it be black thorns encased in ice; medical gynecological instruments studded in sharp fake diamonds encased in glass boxes; or ghostly silhouettes of Vietnamese migrants photographed in a rickety boat in Cambodia – in Mai’s work the human body is with physical and psychological significance. Working across drawing, sculpture, photography, performance, installation and video, her art reflects the experiences of various marginalized communities – the war widow, the migrant labourer, the refugee and more – questioning the social assumptions that impact their lives. Thanh Mai possesses an MA Visual Arts from Mahasarakham University, Thailand; teaches at Hue College of Art, Hue University; and is co-founder of ‘No Cai Bum’, an artist-initiated, artist-run art festival in Hue. Thanh Mai currently lives and works in Hue. 

Thanh Mai was awarded the Pollock-Krasner grant in 2014, and Excellent Artist in 2021 (by The Factory, Vietnam). Notable exhibitions of her work include No more not yet (Nguyen Art Foundation, Vietnam, 2023), Another World (Kunstlerhaus Bethanien, Germany, 2016), and Day By Day (SA SA BASSAC, Phnom Penh, Cambodia, 2015).