Cover Wiking Salon, in collaboration with SBHN, presents the group exhibition “Sac sac, khong khong – Trace of becoming”
Wiking Salon, in collaboration with SBHN, presents the group exhibition “Sac sac, khong khong – Trace of becoming”
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Wiking Salon, in collaboration with SBHN, presents the group exhibition “Sac sac, khong khong – Trace of becoming” by artists Ca Le Thang, Dinh Quan, Nguyen Thuy Hang and Nguyen Viet An
The phrase “Sac sac, khong khong” derives from a key teaching in the Heart Sutra: “Form is emptiness, emptiness is form.” In Mahayana Buddhist philosophy, “form” denotes the material world of shapes, sounds and sensations. By contrast, “emptiness” extends beyond mere nothingness to include the concept of śūnyatā, the understanding that all phenomena are impermanent, interdependent, and lack a fixed, unchanging essence.
Repeating “form” and “emptiness” in “Sac sac, khong khong” emphasises the inseparability of these seemingly opposing ideas. It captures the continuous transformation and interplay between visible and invisible, material and immaterial: pairs of categories that cannot exist independently of one another.
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Above The exhibition opens a path of discovery into material transformation
The exhibition opens a path of discovery into material transformation
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The “Sac sac, khong khong” exhibition opens a path of discovery into material transformation, on how matter shifts from one state to another under natural forces, human touch and artistic vision. This transformation is both physical and symbolic, as raw materials evolve into expressions of beauty, power and meaning in their own right.
Material objects undoubtedly carry traces of time, memory, erosion and constant change. Reflecting this, the artists engage with materials susceptible to transformation such as metal, precious stones, glass, paint, charcoal and synthetic substances to create their works. Each piece stands as a record of change, a witness to a moment within the endless cycle of existence, regardless of its form.
Ca Le Thang, Beneath Deep Rivers, Field Submerged (Dong Chim Day Nuoc) #4, 2024
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“Sac sac, khong khong” invites viewers on a contemplative journey, revealing that matter is not a solid mass to be grasped but a flow in constant change. Within this flow, every present entity bears traces of the past and the seeds of what is yet to come.
