NGUYEN PHAN; Thao
Voyages de Rhodes

Thảo Phan Nguyên artist's book, Voyages de Rhodes, is a palimpsest reconstruction of French Jesuit missionary Alexandre de Rhodes's (1591–1660) Rhodes of Viet Nam: The Travels and Missions of Father Alexandre de Rhodes in China and Other Kingdoms of the Orient, originally published in 1653, which accounts De Rhodes's travels including to present-day Vietnam. Phan uses an 1884 French edition of this book as her canvas, intervening upon its pages with watercolour drawings depicting different narratives that sit at the edge of fantasy, with children as protagonists and sovereigns of a farming commune.

Published by NTU Centre for Contemporary Art Singapore, 2020
Artists' Books