How should we live in a world where our being is inextricably bound up in the deaths of others? What does it mean to situate oneself within a cycle of exchange, rather than at the apex of a hierarchical food chain? Who am “I” if I acknowledge that my existence as an individual is contingent on an innumerable assemblage of diverse beings, both within and beyond the bounded parameters I think of as “my” body?
Saigon-based multimedia artist, Lêna Bùi, wrestles with these essential questions in her work, but is hesitant to claim any authoritative answers. “To be honest, I’ve always had many conflicting thoughts about how I live and what I think is the right way. If I were to live true to my beliefs I should be an ascetic instead of an artist.”
