In conjunction with a solo exhibition by Vietnamese Artist Uudam Tran Nguyen held at the Lim Hak Tai Gallery, the artist and the Institute of Southeast Asian Arts arranged a workshop titled, "By my own hands" with students from NAFA's BA Design Practice and Fine Arts Programme.
This workshop focused on visualising ideas from concepts, such was demonstrated by the artist’s ‘yelling faces’ series. In this series of paintings, he expresses his thoughts and emotions through the recurring motif of a yelling face. On these canvases the ‘yelling face’ motif is usually accompanied by words and phrases; some in English and others in Vietnamese; reflecting the accumulative experience of a dual east-west culture that is influencing his artistic practice.
This motif becomes Uudam’s distinct visual vocabulary in communicating his thoughts on social issues such as injustice, love, war, and peace. Through the artist's unique perspective, students gained insight into the process of creating their own artistic voice, while refining their creative skills.
This workshop ended with selected works by the students choosen by the artist himself to be displayed alongside the artist's works at the exhibition.