Unique light sculptures

Paving the way for "new art"

Sharing about the opportunity to come to this art, Bui Van Tu shared: "When I was a student, I worked as a landscape decorator, so one time when I was setting up and decorating a rockery, when installing lights to highlight the landscape, I suddenly saw the shadow of the rockery on the wall that looked very much like a bear. From then on, I began to have the idea of ​​combining light with works of art. When I graduated from university, I worked as a construction engineer for a state agency, my job was stable, but the idea of ​​this art form was always present, so I worked and tried to figure it out while doing it. In 2014, I decided to participate in the program "Searching for Vietnamese Talent" to introduce my new art and was very lucky to receive strong support from the community and judges. This success gave me more courage to pursue this artistic path. By 2020, I officially started my career and devoted all my time to the art of sculpture. light carving".

Mr. Bui Van Tu (Bat Trang, Hanoi)

However, this is a new art form, unprecedented in Vietnam, so there is no guidance, no path from the predecessors to learn and create, so Bui Van Tu also encountered difficulties when pursuing this art. "Although it was vague and difficult to imagine when starting a new art form, along with the opposition of family and friends, I was still determined to follow the path I had chosen because I thought that "There may be many failures, but if I continue, I believe that when there are results, everyone will support" and to this day, my successes have been recognized by everyone. Through that, I have had the opportunity to bring my works to display and perform at major programs such as: Golden Hammer and Sickle Award, Hue Festival..." - Bui Van Tu shared more.

Among the myriad of materials, he chose driftwood and ceramics as the main materials to create his works. Bui Van Tu said, "These are all materials that are easy to find on the market and are suitable for my creative style. Although each type has different advantages and disadvantages, the most important thing is to know how to choose the right one for the work you want to create. Driftwood and ceramics are materials that are easy to display in any space when combined with light, intention and the reflected artistic message behind will create a special visual impression."

Bui Van Tu's works often tell about life, people, culture, history...

In addition, recently, Bui Van Tu has also created many light sculptures using stone, cement, and even old discarded items such as old helmets, bottles, soft drink cans, or paper boxes... which are daily waste and trash. These seemingly worthless pieces of trash, but through Bui Van Tu's skillful, meticulous hands and creativity, along with the help of light, have transformed into works of art that have left many onlookers amazed.

Creating a work of art is not easy, it requires the artist to be patient and meticulous. Normally, to create a work, Bui Van Tu takes from 1 to 6 months, including coming up with ideas, finding materials, creating shapes and adding words and poems to create a complete work.

Portrait of President Ho Chi Minh

Bui Van Tu shared: "Any light sculpture needs to have an idea and inspiration before starting to work. I start by imagining what the work is, who it is, and what the content is. From there, I sketch out the layout of a completed work. Then, in the sculpting process, I will use light to both shine and carve to create the exact product that I have in mind. This is the most difficult and time-consuming stage, because creating a shape that matches the shape and the shadow is very difficult. If the shape is only 1mm off, the entire shadow will be ruined. It requires a lot of concentration and meticulousness."

Bringing Vietnamese culture and history into the work

Bui Van Tu’s works often draw inspiration from the people he has the chance to meet in life. At the same time, he also follows stories about life, culture, history… to transfer the beauty, charm and wonder of life into his works.

Portrait of national hero Nguyen Trai

Bui Van Tu shared: "Light sculpture is an art that combines sculpture and light, thereby creating unique images from the shadow of an object. Therefore, light sculpture is very suitable for telling stories about life, culture, people, history... In which, the story of Vietnamese culture and history is always the topic that inspires me the most. I have chosen many different stories to express in order to inspire and introduce to the public, especially the youth, the cultural identity and heroic history of our nation".

Since starting his career, Bui Van Tu has created more than 100 works. Many people who visit his small room are surprised to see driftwood carved into works of art, or statues made from scrap pieces... At first, they look strange, but when the light is shined on them, they become sparkling and magical. The shadows of those works appear as portraits of President Ho Chi Minh, General Vo Nguyen Giap, musician Trinh Cong Son, mountains and rivers of Vietnam, or images of a mother holding her child...

Space "Diary of Time Travel"

In addition, during the period of social distancing due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Bui Van Tu created a work from scrap, bottles, beer caps, chili sauce bottles... When the light shines on it, an angel appears trying to hold on to the earth, saving the world from the pandemic. Through the work, he hopes to awaken the community to the increasingly fierce battle with the pandemic and natural problems.

Currently, Bui Van Tu is nurturing a new project "Trang An History - From the first fire to the world's cultural and natural heritages" to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Trang An being recognized by UNESCO as a world cultural and natural heritage.

The work depicts the image of King Le Hoan performing the Tich Dien ceremony in 987.

Sharing about the project, Bui Van Tu said: "My greatest desire is to tell about the culture, beauty of people and nature of Vietnam. Therefore, with this project, I hope to bring an experiential space, providing an overview for visitors about the development of humans from prehistoric times to the present in Trang An; along with the relics and landscapes of the Trang An Scenic Landscape Complex, the connection of the relics throughout history. The project includes 3 main contents: Prehistoric people of Trang An; Agricultural revolution in Trang An; Trang An today preserved and developed.

In Trang An Scenic Landscape Complex, there are many very high limestone mountains. Therefore, I can use natural materials to arrange and shine light on the mountains, creating images of prehistoric people of Trang An, stories about heritage, helping viewers have a new, majestic feeling, which can become a new nighttime tourist destination to attract visitors to Ninh Binh."

Bui Van Tu also uses other materials such as stone, cement, and waste to create works.

At the same time, in the future, Bui Van Tu hopes to have the conditions and opportunities to create valuable light sculptures, works of art to beautify himself, people and society and use light sculptures to tell stories about Vietnamese people. Thereby, not only for domestic friends to listen but also to spread to international friends./.

Source: https://toquoc.vn/ke-chuyen-van-hoa-lich-su-viet-nam-thong-qua-nghe-thuat-dieu-khac-anh-sang-20240319105335962.htm