Vu Thi Trang : Almindeligt liv i Vietnam i dag / Ordinary life in Vietnam today

Vu Thi Trang : Almindeligt liv i Vietnam i dag / Ordinary life in Vietnam today

Vu Thi Trang Almindeligt liv i Vietnam i dag Ordinary life in Vietnam today Stalke Edition 2006

Vu Thi Trang: Almindeligt liv i Vietnam i dag Stalke Edition ISBN 87-90538-27-7 Projektet er støtte af Kunstrådet. Dette katalog er udgivet i forbindelse med en udstilling i Galleri Kirke Sonnerup Marts/April 2006. Copyright: Vu Thi Trang Alle malerier af Vu Thi Trang. Alle fotos ved Vu Thi Trang og Jes Brinch. Layout, tilrettelæggelse og oversættelse: Jes Brinch Tak til: Kunststyrelsen, Kunstrådets internationale billedkunstudvalg, Stalke og Sam Jedig, Phan Van Thanh og Lisbeth Brinch. Denne bog er dedikeret til Nguyen Thi Tram. Vu Thi Trang: Ordinary life in Vietnam today Stalke Edition ISBN 87-90538-27-7 The project is sponsored by the Danish Arts Council. This catalogue is published in conjunction with an exhibition in Gallery Kirke Sonnerup March/April 2006. Copyright: Vu Thi Trang All paintings by Vu Thi Trang. All photos by Vu Thi Trang and Jes Brinch. Layout, coordination and translation: Jes Brinch Thanks to: The Danish Arts Council s International Committee for Visual Arts, Stalke and Sam Jedig, Phan Van Thanh and Lisbeth Brinch. This publication is dedicated to Nguyen Thi Tram. Distribution: Stalke Edition Englerupvej 62, Kirke Sonnerup, DK-4060 Såby, Denmark. Tel: +45 46492670. E-mail: galleri-k-sonnerup@stalke.dk. www.stalke.dk

Min livshistorie Vu Thi Trang s livshistorie som fortalt til Jes Brinch i Hoi An, Vietnam, December 2005. Mit Navn er Vu Thi Trang. Jeg er født i landsbyen Dong Cao, i Pho Yeu distriktet, i Thai Nguyen provinsen, 60 kilometer nord for Hanoi i Nord Vietnam, den 24. December 1974. Min far hed Vu Van Binh. Jeg ved ikke helt sikkert hvad år han er født, men det er nok i 1932 i Dong Cao i Thai Nguyen. Han arbejdede i den nordvietnamesiske hær, men efter at han fik en masse børn var han nød til at opgive sit arbejde i hæren, og tage et andet arbejde for at kunne forsørge sin familie. Han levede af at fange krabber og fisk i en sø nær vores hus. Hans arbejde var hårdt, og han var nød til at arbejde meget, og fiskede også om vinteren selvom det var meget koldt. Når man fisker krabber og fisk i søerne står man i vand til brystet. Han havde kun et enkelt sæt tøj til at have på hele året, og ikke andet at have på om vinteren. Da hans børn var blevet store, og var begyndt at tjene lidt penge og kunne forsørge sig selv, blev han syg og døde af lungebetændelse i 1996. Jeg var 21 år gammel da min far døde. Jeg arbejdede så meget jeg kunne for at hjælpe min far for at han ikke skulle være nød til at arbejde når han var gammel og syg, men han blev alligevel meget syg. Jeg var meget ked af det når jeg så min far fiske i koldt vand, selvom at han var syg, men der var ikke noget jeg kunne gøre, selvom jeg prøvede. Jeg holdt meget af min far, han var et godt menneske, og jeg er ked af at han ikke fik mulighed for at have en alderdom med lidt penge, og mulighed for at slappe af med sin familie. Hvis ikke min familie havde været så fattig, tror jeg at min far kunne have levet længere. Jeg føler det som om at min far ikke er død, men stadig lever, og jeg har stadig et nært forhold til ham, og oplever det som om at han holder øje med mig og hjælper mig. Og jeg er sikker på at han er lykkelig og har et bedre liv nu. Jeg savner ham altid.

Min mor hedder Nguyen Thi Bao. Hun er født i 1943, også i Dong Cao i Thai Nguyen, og lever endnu. Hun er fra en bondefamilie, og arbejdede som risbonde og solgte de fisk og krabber på markedet som min far fangede. Min mor har haft et travlt liv med at tage sig af sine 7 børn. Min mor er en dygtig kvinde, der har taget sig godt af sine børn, og givet os et sundt liv, trods at vores familie er fattig. Hun har boet hele sit liv på landet. Jeg er glad for at jeg har en sund og stærk gammel mor. Jeg har 2 storebrødre, en lillebror, 2 storesøstre, og en lillesøster, vi er 7 i alt. Mine søskende er alle ret fattige, men lever nogen gode liv. Vi er en stor familie når man tæller alle mine søskendes ægtefæller og børn med, og jeg er meget glad for dem. For en vietnameser er det vigtigt at have en stor familie, for man støtter altid hinanden i familien, og det er ens familie der hjælper når man bliver syg eller har problemer. Jeg kom i skole da jeg var 6 år gammel, og gik ud af skolen da jeg var 13 år gammel, fordi min familie ikke havde penge til at jeg kunne fortsætte. Den skole jeg gik i var en almindelig skole på landet, og den var ret gammeldags. Vi lærte at læse, skrive og regne, som man plejer. Da jeg var færdig med skolen arbejde jeg som krabbefisker, fangede krabber i det lave vand på rismarkerne og solgte dem på markedet. På den måde tjente jeg lidt penge til min mor, men ikke meget. Hele familien arbejde med krabbefiskeri, og tjente ikke mange penge. Da jeg var 15 år dyrkede jeg grønsager i vores have som jeg solgte på markedet. Jeg dyrkede vandspinat, salat, tomater, kål, løg og hvidløg. Ved at sælge grønsager tjente jeg lidt mere, og på den måde kunne jeg hjælpe min far lidt bedre. Min far blev syg da jeg var 22 år gammel, og jeg ville meget gerne hjælpe ham, for at tjene penge nok til hans hospitalsophold. Men lægerne sagde at det eneste de kunne gøre var at give ham indsprøjtninger med vitaminer og medicin, men at de ikke kunne holde ham i live på anden måde. Min far var på hospitalet i en måned, og så gav lægerne os besked på at tage min far med hjem, fordi at han ikke havde meget tid tilbage at leve i. Vi tog ham med hjem på en Xe Om motorcykeltaxi. Da min far var hjemme lavede jeg al det mad han godt kunne lide, og gjorde alt hvad jeg kunne for at hjælpe ham. Han var hjemme i en uge, og så døde han. Jeg var meget ked af det.

2 år efter at min far døde fik jeg en kæreste fra samme område som jeg boede i. Da vi var forelskede løj han, og lovede at han aldrig ville drikke, og jeg troede på ham, og vi blev gift. Efter et år fødte jeg min datter. Det var i 1999. Min datter hedder Nguyen Thi Tram. Da min datter var 2 måneder gammel var jeg nød til at begynde at arbejde igen, og måtte på markedet og sælge frugt, fordi min mand ikke hjalp til, men i stedet drak sig fuld og slog mig. Jeg var nød til at blive hos min mand, fordi min datter var meget lille, og jeg ikke havde andre muligheder. Min familie sagde at jeg skulle forlade min mand, men det kunne jeg ikke, fordi at han truede med at slå min datter ihjel, og slå mig endnu mere hvis jeg forlod ham. Jeg levede i frygt for ham, og var meget deprimeret. Da min datter var 2 år gammel blev det for meget, og jeg var nød til at forlade min mand og datter, fordi min mand altid drak sig fuld, truede mig, og slog mig regelmæssigt. Jeg var så bange for ham at jeg ikke kunne leve med ham, og var nød til at flygte til Hanoi, selvom at det gjorde utroligt ondt at forlade min lille datter. Jeg savnede min datter afsindig meget og tog flere gange tilbage til landsbyen for at møde hende. Når min mand mødte mig slog han mig igen. Jeg sagde til ham at vi ikke kunne leve sammen, og at jeg ville have skilsmisse, men han ikke give mig skilsmisse. Han ville hellere leve med mig og tæske mig, som om jeg var hans ejendom. Da min datter var 4 år gammel tog jeg fra Hanoi tilbage til landsbyen for at besøge min datter i hendes børnehave. Min mand opdage mig og slog mig ned på gaden foran børnehaven, og klippede mit hår af mig mens jeg var bevidstløs. Jeg anmeldte overfaldet til politiet, og dette hjalp mig til at få en skilsmisse. På politiets kontor truede min mand med at slå min datter ihjel hvis jeg fik forældremyndigheden over hende. For at undgå at problemerne skulle gå ud over min datter var jeg nød til at afstå fra forældremyndigheden over hende.

Det var lettere for mig at bo i Hanoi end at bo på landet, hvor folk er meget gammeldags. Folk i storbyerne er mere moderne og lever friere. Derfor er det som fraskilt kvinde meget lettere at leve i en storby, hvor der ikke er så mange fordomme. På landet er det stadig tabu at få skilsmisse. Da jeg boede i Hanoi arbejde jeg i en frisør og tjente 800.000 dong (Ca. 320 kr.) per måned for 14 timers arbejde om dagen, 7 dage om ugen. Jeg var ked af det, savnede min datter meget, og gik en del i byen for at glemme problemerne. Jeg mødte en masse kvinder i Hanoi som havde problemer og oplevelser ligesom mine egne. Til et bryllup for en af min ven Kien blev jeg introduceret til Jes, og efter at vi havde mødt hinanden rundt omkring en masse gange, blev vi kærester, og efter et år blev vi gift i maj 2005. Ved at se hvordan Jes arbejder som kunstner, og lave forskellige kunstprojekter i samarbejde med ham, forstod jeg at jeg selv kunne lave kunst, og der igennem fortælle om mit liv og mine oplevelser. Alle mine malerier taler sandt, og fortæller om ting jeg selv har oplevet, og jeg ved at mange andre kvinder har haft lignende oplevelser. Dette er min historie. Jeg dedikerer denne bog til min datter Nguyen Thi Tram. Vu Thi Trang 2005

Grovheder til aftensmad. Vu Thi Trang. Akryl på lærred 60 X 90 cm. 2005. Maleriet viser en mand der er fuld og grov over for sin kone og sin datter. Han truer konen og barnet med en kost, mens de er samlet for at spise. De er kede af det og bange for ham. Jeg har malet billedet ud fra oplevelser i mit eget liv. Jeg ved at mange andre kvinder i Vietnam, både på landet og i byerne, har hårde liv og lignende oplevelser. Jeg har været meget ked af det, og vil i billedet vise hvad jeg har været ked af det over. Jeg er ked af det på alle kvinders vegne som har haft alkoholiske og voldelige mænd, ligesom jeg selv. Jeg håber at mænd og kvinder i Vietnam og resten af verden vil være mildere og blødere over for hinanden i fremtiden. Rudeness for dinner. Vu Thi Trang. Acrylic on canvas 60 X 90 cm. 2005. The painting displays a drunken man being rude to his wife and daughter. He threatens his wife and kid with a broom while they re gathered to eat dinner. They re sad and scared of him. I ve painted the picture based on experiences from my own life. I know that a lot of other women in Vietnam, both in the country side and in the cities, have tough lives and similar experiences. I ve been very unhappy, and in the painting I want to show what I ve been sad about. I feel sad for all the women with alcoholic and violent men, who has felt like I did. I hope that men and women in Vietnam and the rest of the world will be milder and softer towards each other in the future.

Grusomhed. Vu Thi Trang. Akryl på lærred 60 X 90 cm. 2005. Maleriet viser en mand der drikker en masse sprut, ryger mange cigaretter, og er stor i kæften og ubehøvlet. Han er grusom overfor sin kone og slår hende. Hans kone og barn er skræmte og kede af det. Cruelty. Vu Thi Trang. Acrylic on canvas 60 X 90 cm. 2005. The painting shows a man drinking a lot of booze, smoking loads of cigarettes, while being an offensive loud mouth. He is cruel and violent to his wife. His wife and kid are frightened and distressed.

En fattigt familie i Vietnam. Vu Thi Trang. Akryl på lærred 60 X 90 cm. 2005. Familien på maleriet er meget fattige. Konen må arbejde hårdt men kan ikke tjene nok penge. Hendes mand har ingen hænder, efter et alvorligt uheld med dynamitfiskeri. Derfor kan han ikke arbejde og drikker i stedet. Familien er deprimeret. De har kun to små fisk til fire personer. A poor family in Vietnam. Vu Thi Trang. Acrylic on canvas 60 X 90 cm. 2005. The family on the painting is very poor. The wife has to work hard but can t earn enough money. Her husband has no hands after a serious accident with dynamite fishing. Therefore he can t work, but drinks instead. The family is unhappy. They only have two small fish for 4 persons.

De har brug for hjælp. Vu Thi Trang. Akryl på lærred 60 X 90 cm. 2005. Maleriet viser min farbror, Nguyen Van Minh, der er 63 år gammel. Han har kæmpet for den Nord Vietnamesiske hær, og har stadig rester af kugler siddende i kraniet. Han er meget syg, og kan ikke bevæge sig ordentligt. Han får en lille pension, men fordi familien er fattig, er der ikke råd til at tage ham på hospitalet, og han må blive hjemme. På maleriet er der også en gammel vietnamesisk kvinde, der mangler den ene arm, og som må tigge. Mange gamle mennesker er fattige i Vietnam, og jeg malede billedet for at vise dette. They need help. Vu Thi Trang. Acrylic on canvas 60 X 90 cm. 2005. The painting shows my father s brother, Nguyen Van Minh, who s 63 years old. He fought for the North Vietnamese army, and still carries pieces of bullets in his skull. He s quite ill and can t move properly. He receives a small pension, but because the family is poor there s no resources to take him to the hospital, and he has to stay at home. On the painting there s also an old Vietnamese woman, who lost an arm, and therefore has to beg. Many old people in Vietnam are poor, and I made the painting to show this.

Konen tjener pengene, manden bruger dem. Vu Thi Trang. Akryl på lærred 60 X 90 cm. 2005. Maleriet viser en vietnamesisk kvinde som altid er nød til at arbejde med at sælge frugt på markedet. På en dag kan hun måske tjene 100.000 dong eller 50.000 dong (100.000 dong er ca. 40 kr.). Manden hjælper ikke, men bliver hjemme, drikker sig fuld, ryger cigarer og køber dyre ting for de penge konen tjener. The wife earns the money, the husband spends them. Vu Thi Trang. Acrylic on canvas 60 X 90 cm. 2005. The painting shows a Vietnamese woman who has to work selling fruit at the market all the time. In one day she might be able to make 100.000 dong or 50.000 dong (100.000 dong is about 6 USD). Her husband doesn t help, but stays home, gets drunk, smokes cigars and buys expensive stuff with the money his wife earns.

Han vil til karaoke fordi hans kone er fra landet. Vu Thi Trang. Akryl på lærred 60 X 90 cm. 2005. Manden på maleriet arbejder for et firma og tjener mange penge. Han har en kone fra landet, som er meget smuk, men det er han ligeglad med, for han vil hellere til Karaoke Om, hvor der er smukke sexede unge kvinder. På en Karaoke Om kan gæsterne holde om de kvindelige værtinder mens der synges karaoke. Konen ved godt hvad han laver, og henter ham for at få ham med hjem. Men manden vil hellere til karaoke, og det gør konen ked af det. He wants to go karaoke because his wife is from the countryside. Vu Thi Trang. Acrylic on canvas 60 X 90 cm. 2005. The man on the painting is working for a company and earns well. His wife is from the countryside, and very beautiful, but he doesn t care, because he prefers to go to Karaoke Om, where there are attractive and sexy young women. On a Karaoke Om the customers can hold around the hostesses while they sing karaoke. His wife knows what he is doing and wants to bring him home. But the husband is determined to go to karaoke, which makes the wife feel dejected.

Slap af med massage. Vu Thi Trang. Akryl på lærred 60 X 90 cm. 2005. Den unge kvinde på maleriet inviterer mænd til massage, og lokker med at der er mange unge smukke massøser. Hun reklamerer også for en skønhedsklinik for kvinder, hvor de kan blive smukke, attraktive og moderne. De unge kvinder der arbejder som massøser kan tjene mange penge og købe dyre ting, som den smarte motorcykel der står på gaden. Please relax with a massage. Vu Thi Trang. Acrylic on canvas 60 X 90 cm. 2005. The young woman on the painting invites men to massage and tempts by promising that the hostesses are very handsome. She also advertises for a beauty salon for women, where they can get treatment to become beautiful, attractive and modern. Young women working as masseuses can earn a lot of cash and buy expensive things, such as the fashionable motorbike parked in the street.

Unge kvinder giver massage. Vu Thi Trang. Akryl på lærred 60 X 90 cm. 2005. Dette er to mænd der er til massage. Massøserne keder sig mens de arbejder. Unge smukke kvinder fra landet kan tage til byen og arbejde som massøser, for at tjene penge til deres familie og børn på landet. Men de er deprimerede over deres arbejde. Young women giving massage. Vu Thi Trang. Acrylic on canvas 60 X 90 cm. 2005. This is two men getting massage. The masseuses are bored with their work. Young good-looking women from the countryside can go to the cities and work as masseuses to earn money to their families and kids back home. But they are depressed about their work.

Beauty Salon. Vu Thi Trang. Akryl på lærred 60 X 90 cm. 2005. Mange unge kvinder fra landet vil gerne til storbyerne i Vietnam og arbejde på skønhedsklinikker fordi de gerne vil være smukke og moderne. Beauty Salon. Vu Thi Trang. Acrylic on canvas 60 X 90 cm. 2005. Many young women from the countryside want to go to the major cities in Vietnam and work in beauty salons because they want to be good-looking and trendy.

Disco dancing. Vu Thi Trang. Akryl på lærred 60 X 90 cm. 2005. Maleriet viser rige vietnamesiske mænd der går på diskotek, ikke for at danse, men for at vise de har mange penge, og kigge på letpåklædte dansepiger. Disco dancing. Vu Thi Trang. Acrylic on canvas 60 X 90 cm. 2005. The painting shows rich Vietnamese men going to a discotheque, not to dance, but to show off their money, and watch bikini clad dancing girls.

My Life Story The life story of Vu Thi Trang as told to Jes Brinch in Hoi An, Vietnam, December 2005. My name is Vu Thi Trang. I m born in Dong Cao village, in Pho Yeu district, in the Thai Nguyen province, 60 kilometres north of Hanoi in North Vietnam, on the 24. of December 1974. My fathers name was Vu Van Binh. I m not sure exactly when he was born, but it is probably in 1932 in Dong Cao in Thai Nguyen. He worked in the North Vietnamese army, but after he had a lot of children he had to give up his work in the army, and get another job in order to support his family. He caught crabs and fish in a lake near our house. His work was hard and he had to work a lot, and had to go fishing even in the winter when it was very cold. One has to stand in water up to the chest when fishing in the lake. He had only one set of clothing for the whole year, and nothing else to wear for the winter. When his kids grew up, and started to earn a little money to support them selves, he got sick and died of Pneumonia in 1996. I was 22 years old when he died. I worked as much as I could, so that my father wouldn t have to work when he was old and sick, but anyway he got very sick. I got very sad watching my father fishing in the cold water even though he was sick, but there was nothing I could do, even though I tried. I loved my father very much. He was a good man, and I m sorry that he didn t have the possibility to have a little money in his old age, so he could relax with his family. If my family hadn t been so poor, I think my father would have lived longer. I feel as if my father isn t dead, but still lives, and I still have a close relationship with him, and it feels like he is watching over me and helping me. I m sure he is happy and has a better life now. I always miss him.

My mothers name is Nguyen Thi Bao. She s born in 1943, also in Dong Cao in Thai Nguyen, and is still alive today. She s from a peasant family, and worked as a rice farmer, and sold the fish and crabs at the market that my father caught. My mother has had a busy life taking care of her 7 kids. My mother is a competent woman who has taken good care of her children, and has given us a healthy life, even though our family is very poor. I m happy that I have a healthy and strong old mother. I have 2 older brothers, one younger brother, to older sisters and one younger sister. We are 7 siblings in total. All my siblings are quite poor, but live good lives. We re a very big family when you count all my siblings with their spouses and children, and I m very happy to have them all. For a Vietnamese it s important to have a big family, because people within the family always support each other, and it is the family that helps if one get sick or have problems. I entered school when I was 6 years old and finished school when I was 13 years old, because my family could not afford to support further studies for me. The school I went to was an ordinary school in the countryside, and pretty old fashioned. We learned to read and write, and calculate, as usual. After graduating from school I worked as a crab fisher, caught crabs in the low water in the rice fields and sold them at the market. In this way I earned a little money for my mother, but not much. When I was 15 years old I grew vegetables in our garden and sold them at the market. I grew water spinach, salad, tomatoes, cabbage, onions and garlic. By selling the vegetables I earned a little more, and in this way I could help my father a little bit better. My father got very sick when I was 21 years old, and I really wanted to help him, and earn enough money for his hospitalisation. But the doctors said that the only thing they could do was to give him injections of vitamins and medicine, but that they could not keep him alive in other ways. My father was in hospital for a month, and then the doctors told us to bring him home, because he would not have much time left to live in. We brought him home on a Xe Om motorcycle taxi. When my father was home I cooked all his favourite foods, and did everything I could to help him. He was home for a week, and then he died. I was very sad.

2 years after my father died I got a boyfriend from the same area as I lived in. When we where in love he lied to me, and promised never to drink. I believed him, and we got married. After a year I gave birth to my daughter. That was in 1999. My daughters name is Nguyen Thi Tram. When my daughter was 2 months old I had to start working again, and had to go to the market to sell fruit, because my husband did not work, but instead got drunk and beat me. I had to stay with my husband because my daughter was very small and I didn t have other possibilities. My family told me to leave my husband, but I couldn t because he threatened to kill my daughter and abuse me even more if I left him. I lived in constant fear of him and was very depressed. When my daughter was 2 years old it got too much and I had to leave my husband and daughter, because my husband where always drunk, threatened me and beat me regularly. I was so afraid of him that I couldn t live with him, and had to run away to Hanoi even though it hurt a lot to leave my little daughter. I missed my daughter intensely, and went back to the village several times to see her. When my husband met me he beat me up again. I told him that we couldn t live together, and that I wanted a divorce, but he wouldn t give me a divorce. He would rather live with me and beat me up, as if I was his property. When my daughter was 4 years old I went from Hanoi back to the village to visit my daughter in her kindergarten. My husband discovered me and beat me unconscious on the street in front of the kindergarten, and cut my hair of when I was unconscious. I reported the attack to the police, and this helped med getting a divorce. At the police office my husband threatened to kill my daughter if I got custody of her. To protect my daughter I had to give up custody of her.

It was easier for me to live in Hanoi than in the countryside, where people are very old fashioned. People in the big cities are more modern and live freer lives. For that reason it is a lot easier for a divorced woman to live in a modern city, where there are not as many prejudices. In the countryside it is still taboo to get a divorce. When I lived in Hanoi I worked as a hair dresser and earned 800.000 dong (Approximately 50 USD) per month for 14 hours work per day 7 days a week. I was sad, and missed my daughter a lot, and went out a lot to try to forget my problems. I met a lot of women in Hanoi who had problems and experiences like my own. At the wedding of my friend Kien I was introduced to Jes, and after we met each other in many other places we became lovers, and got married a year after in May 2005. After seeing how Jes works as an artist, and doing some art projects in collaboration with him, I realized that I could make art myself, and through art communicate about my life and my experiences. All my paintings speak the truth, and tell about experiences I have had, and I know that a lot of other women have had similar experiences. This is my story. I dedicate this book to my daughter Nguyen Thi Tram. Vu Thi Trang 2005

Min datter Nguyen Thi Tram. My daughter Nguyen Thi Tram.

Stalke Edition ISBN 87-90538-27-7