Program
Support
Information
Fluid Memories
Chung Ngyuen
Showing/Installation
DATE & TIME
Wednesday 30 April, 2025 7pm
LOCATION
Temperance Hall, Main Hall & Front Studio
199 Napier Street
South Melbourne
ACCESSIBILITY
Wheelchair accessible
CONTENT
Content Warnings
TICKETS
Free, register to attend
Fluid Memories examines the lasting impact of Agent Orange, the chemical herbicide deployed by the U.S. military during the Vietnam War. James and Chung's research centres on the NuFarm factory in Fawkner, Victoria, which manufactured herbicides and agricultural chemicals including Agent Orange, between 1955-1974.
Central to this work is the red scarf—an iconic socialist youth symbol—reimagined as a metaphorical umbilical cord, connecting the artist's body to Mother Earth. Chung also draws on military marching to investigate their physical language as a form of cultural expression. As queer artists from different waves of Vietnamese migration to Australia (post-war refugee and post-Đổi Mới economic), James and Chung create space for cultural dialogue and healing across separate diasporic experiences.
Please note, the audience will be invited to move between spaces and to participate in the performance if they feel comfortable.
CONCEPT CHOREOGRAPHY AND PERFORMANCE by Chung Nguyen
VIDEO & SOUND DESIGN by James Nguyen
PARTICIPATORY ENGAGEMENT ADVISOR Gav Barbey
Performance Review - Fluid Memories, Chung Nguyen
Author:Anador Walsh
Date:18.06.26
Chung Ngyuen is a Temperance Hall Front Studio Resident for 2025.
Temperance Hall's Front Studio Residency offers six independent artists an artist fee and two months of exclusive, unrestricted access to the Front Studio at Temperance Hall – a dedicated private studio space at the front of the building. At the conclusion of their residencies, artists present a public showing of their work in development, and receive professional photographic and video documentation.
The Front Studio Residency has been supported by the Neilson Foundation, the City of Port Phillip, the Palais Theatre Community Fund, private donors and the Australian Government through Creative Australia, its principal arts investment and advisory body.