“Cellar – Chín Hầm is a land art installation inspired by the nine cells used to detain political prisoners at the foot of Thien Thai Mountain in Hue. In 1954, during the Ngo Dinh Diem regime, Ngo Dinh Can utilized this site to imprison Communists and residents of Hue who opposed the Ngo family’s nepotistic rule. The work was created by digging nine rectangular holes into the soil of the Red River’s middle plain in Hanoi, Vietnam.

While creating this piece, I retained elements of the traditional drawing techniques I had been taught by employing a spade to carve into the soil. The artwork was intentionally ephemeral, as the holes would collapse and vanish with the high tide. This transience reflects the overarching power of time and nature’s transformations, emphasizing their ability to outlast and erase human ambitions.”

— Le Phi Long

Photos by Vương Bích Ngọc, Phong Linh