HAPPINESS / vui

Location: 
Adidas Flagship Store, Bitexco tower, HCMC Vietnam 

Format: Color printed plastic, CnC cut, attached with gears and motors to create repetitive mechanical motion.

VUI, mean Happiness in Vietnamese is a mixed media - automata - kinetic illustration. The work depicts two characters: "Chú Tễu" (Uncle Teu - also known as "The Joker" in water puppetry) and "Cô Tễu" (Aunt Teu) with gender-neutral appearance. The couple, who represents Vietnamese traditional cultures, are playing with each other in the most carefree and cheerful way- just like the childlike nature of their characters.

VUI also has a hidden message of optimism for the Vietnamese young creatives in the face of obstacles when accessing to their own country's traditional culture. But the key is to putting those barriers and fears aside. The cultural inheritance itself appears only when young creators confidently 'play' and experiment with it in their own sense, just like the two characters in VUI. That is the right moment for creativity to fly beyond any limits.