It all started with a menu from a small Asian bistro in Berlin. HIEN HOANG (*1990, Quang Ninh/Vietnam) was amazed by the variety of dishes that came from Thailand, China and Vietnam. This was the trigger to think about clichés of Germans towards Asian cultures and to do artistic research on them. Hoang experiments with arrangement, staging and installation – adding layers of meaning by recontextualizing everyday objects and habits. Engaging with foreign views of Asia also changes perceptions of her own identity. Since 2018, Hoang has been working on her work “Asia Bistro”, which combines photographic works, performance, and video, and can be placed in different installation contexts depending on the location. Foods labeled as typically Asian are often part of her work. Whether it’s noodles, raw salmon, tofu or coconut milk – because nothing is as linked to identity and home as certain local dishes and ingredients. Plump, glossy and succulent – simply sensual – they are often staged in combination with velvety or iridescent fabrics, patterned vases and other excitingly textured props. At the center, however, is the body. It is covered with soaked rice paper, it walks on cooked noodles – as in her multimedia performance project Made in Reis, 2021, with which she wants to get to the bottom of the causes of resentment towards Asians visually and performatively.

Text written by Christiane Opitz, independent curator. 2022