roots run wild on threads of memory
6 March - 19 April, 2025
15 Beautreillis, Paris, France
Curated by Quinnie Tan
"In roots run wild on threads of memory, the multidisciplinary artist Victoria Pham retells personal and familial stories and re-imagines literal and figurative landscapes through materials that the artist herself has smuggled, composed, deconstructed, and cultivated.
Comprising a large-scale silk painting, hand-embroidered 18th century erotic and feminist poetry by Hồ Xuân Hương, and assemblages of futuristic-archeological objects, the exhibition features the eponymous sound-projection-garden installation in the gallery's lower level. The artworks' diversity of forms belies their underlying commonality: what they are made of is not straightforward; and the archive from which these works derive meaning is unstable, contested - and very much alive.
In her first solo exhibition in Europe, Victoria's decidedly polyvalent practice as an artist, an evolutionary biologist and archaeologist, a composer, a writer, and a materials designer coalesce to present a plural self. The exhibit contains not only the artist's singular subjectivity, but also traces of the bodies and labor and remembrances of the women in her family; a communion and a negotiation with nature in the production process; and an imperfect reclamation of lost language, silence, and meaning in the aftermath of coloniality. As Victoria acknowledges, the works in the show "contemplate how the connection between decomposition and regeneration can be an act of resilience."
Text by Quinnie Tan
IMAGES OF INSTALLATION: Kay Murata
POSTER DESIGN: Studio MIMU
Public Programs
Smuggled Herbs: a workshop growing, nourishing, and tasting Vietnamese herbs
April 4, 19 - 21h. Art Paris.
Join artist Victoria Pham for a sensory exploration of history, culture, and nourishment in this special public program as part of roots run wild on threads of memory, her solo exhibition at 15 Beautreillis. Over two immersive hours, Pham will guide participants through the rich cultural and culinary histories of the four Vietnamese herbs that form the living heart of her eponymous listening garden installation at the gallery's lower level. With both medicinal and culinary significance, these herbs will be tasted individually before coming together in a hands-on workshop where we will craft fresh, vegan summer rolls. To root this experience even further, Pham will lead a planting session focused on coriander, offering each participant a seedling to take home and nurture. Come contemplate the deep intertwining of smuggled plants, memory, and sustenance in this early spring gathering.
Artist Talk
April 10, 18-19h30
Join artist Victoria Pham and curator Quinnie Tan for a conversation about the show.
Free admission
