My Grandfather's Clock: Vague Reconstructions of a Childhood Memory
2 channel video installation
The installation exhibition My Grandfather's Clock: Vague Reconstructions of a Childhood Memory is a unique project that combines images, light, movement, and sound. It takes place in the Ballet Room on the fourth floor of the Hanoi Children's Palace. Conceived and directed by visual artist and performance practitioner Dang Thuy Anh, the music is performed by Hanoi Bedroom Shows-Tran Uy Duc, featuring Minh Nguyen's adaptation of the song "My Grandfather's Clock" along with the participation of the Sao Tuoi Tho club. This project helps bring Dang Thuy Anh's deep emotions "back" in time, recreating the childhood memories of the artist and everyone else, reminding us that everyone was once a child.
“Every time I think of the Children's Palace, in the hot summer sun of the 2000s, the melody of this song echoes in my mind. The teacher's slow, emotional piano playing makes me feel the separation and sadness in the lyrics. He said that even though the tempo is slow, sad and old, this is still a beautiful and emotional song. From the first day of school, I knew the song by heart. I sang it to my mother when we had lunch together at her office after I finished school. At that time, my mother told me that I had to sing this song to my grandfather”. Those images are like a nostalgic mist of my grandfather, my mother, and my innocent childhood in the vast space of the Palace. They are not only Dang Thuy Anh's but also echo the memories of many people. In the ballet room on the fourth floor, the slow melodies from the old piano, along with childhood dances, will blend with the memories of Dang Thuy Anh and each individual, creating a new, emotional version of My Grandfather's Clock. In this way, we will find the images of our grandfathers, grandmothers, mothers, and loved ones through this work.
At the installation exhibition My Grandfather's Clock: Vague Reconstructions of a Childhood Memory, part of a series of activities themed around the Children's Palace - as a memory exercise during the Hanoi Festival of Creative Design 2024, taking place from November 9 to November 17, 2024, at the Hanoi Children's Palace, visitors will not only share the artist's memories in a nostalgic atmosphere but also be reminded of and immersed in beautiful childhood memories.