Artist statement
In his ‘Experimental Photo Series’, Duong covers his body with paint and moves instinctively across the surface. Bold and dynamic paint marks are produced and convey a sense of trauma, release and movement.
The series depicts Duong’s coming out experience which provided him the stepping-stone for his first performance. Duct tape is bandaged around his ankles and limbs to restrict his movement and freedom. Layers of paint are applied onto his skin which are then shedded off onto the canvas; akin to our life experiences of building up walls and then tearing them down. His last image in the series shows cleansing and liberation of expression.
Artist biography
KV Duong is a Vietnamese London based multi-disciplinary artist with a practice that spans painting, photography and performance. Duong explores themes of war migration and cultural assimilation through a re-examination of his parents’ experience of the Vietnam war. War trauma and integration correlate with the artist’s coming out as a gay Asian man.