The centerpiece of Tuan Andrew Nguyen’s current on-line show at James Cohan Gallery is ‘The Boat People,’ a video about a heroic group of survivor children who’ve become the last humans alive. They parade through their lonely world carrying wooden artifacts (sculpture hand crafted in Bataan, Philippines) that speak to war and migration pre-apocalypse. The Bodhisattva Guanyin reappears throughout the exhibition (here making a benevolent gesture), repeatedly orienting the narrative toward compassion. In a must-see video, Nguyen explains that the dark, burned areas on the wood point to fire as ‘a strong metaphor for freedom and liberation, both spiritual and political.’ (On view through May 3rd).
