"I have placed myself in various states of being - like a fish in water, an animal in the forest, an anonymous traveler on long-distance journeys... All these experiences only made escape more futile as I found myself present everywhere. Until I encountered a magnificent material - Earth." - Lam Na

Through her distinctive practice with terracotta and materials inspired by historical contexts, Lam Na (b. 1987) explores the concept of “soft-inelastic collisions”: moments where different temporalities meet without resistance, cultivating dialogues between past and present that transcend conventional ceramic approaches. Her work delves into fundamental questions about existence: What exists first? What remains last?

After graduating from Hue University of Fine Arts in 2011, Lam Na pursued a Master’s in Visual Arts at Mahasarakham University, Thailand, completing her studies in 2014. Initially working in painting, she participated in several prominent exhibitions, including Hanoi Grapevine's Finest (2024), Grapevine Selection - Volume 2 (2015), the Vietnam Painting Exhibition organized by the Danish Embassy in Hanoi (2013), the ASEAN Contemporary Art Exhibition in Bangkok, the ASEAN Art Festival in Hua Hin, Thailand (2014), and the Seoul Art Festival in South Korea (2016). However, a pivotal moment in her artistic journey came in 2022 at Bat Trang pottery village in Gia Lam, Hanoi, where her encounter with traditional clay processes sparked what she respectfully calls a special serendipity.

There, she discovered earth as a "prehistoric hard drive," a miraculous material that silently absorbs and continuously transforms matter across time. This perspective shapes her unique creative methodology, where materials partially guide their own transformation. Instead of imposing predetermined forms through sketches, she allows the interaction between clay and found objects related to historical periods to evolve organically during the firing process. "When I meet it [earth], it gives me a new concept that never existed before," she reflects. "It opens me up, everything becomes 'first.' There are too many definitions, too much knowledge. We need to empty out to receive."

In December 2024, Lam Na's works were featured in the group exhibition A Beginning, organized by Vietnam Art Collection (VAC) in Shanghai. One of her standout pieces, The First Land (2023), exemplifies her exploration of material transformation and time. This installation, composed of nine sculptures, invites viewers to witness the cyclical return of ancient forms to their origins. She explains that before humans define currency, its essence was merely ore extracted from earth, transformed by fire, and cast into coins. In her process, she embeds historical elements into clay and subjects them to fire once more, enabling them to return to their "material selves". Beginning and end merge into one, forming a circle of birth and extinction. By placing the work directly on the ground, Lam Na transforms the exhibition floor into an "archaeological site", where the accumulation of time becomes palpable.

In the work Untitled (2023), Lam Na draws inspiration from the motifs found on Phung Nguyen culture ceramics (circa 2000–1500 BCE), especially the repeated fingernail impressions carved onto the surface, a form of decoration that is rustic, distinctive, and deeply personal. She shares: “I feel as if I can sense the rhythm of ancient hands...” What seems like a straightforward gesture actually holds profound historical depth. The systematic arrangement of these traces creates a field of rhythm, like a map of time. Two elements evoking the Phung Nguyen style are attached after firing, establishing a dialogue between past and present, while the dark triangle that appears during firing becomes a witness to material transformation. For her, this work closes a circle, where beginning and end merge into one.

Lam Na continues to explore states of dormancy and awakening through fired clay and flowing glaze in The Seed (2023). "I admire the seed's journey. Seeds possess the quality of independence. They detach and fall, solitary yet full of internal energy... Seeds appear still, but in reality, they move through chains of time and space. They spread in their own way, carrying life within. A seed is like an archive," she muses. Like ancient seeds receiving their first drop of water after centuries of waiting, liquid-like areas appear as vital fluids emerging from five circular forms. The work contemplates nature's patience, on how matter can wait centuries for a moment of renewal. This notion of suspended time and potential reawakening permeates her practice, suggesting that all matter holds memory and possibility within.

In her relentless creative journey, 2025 marks a new and inspiring phase as Lam Na joins the residency program at VAC Hanoi. Here, she has developed new works, further expanding her practice with materials and concepts tied to cultural memory and time. One notable project is a series of coffee drawings on Dzo paper, aiming for 1,000 pieces. This project is not just an artistic endeavor but a daily ritual, interweaving her English language learning with creation, capturing words, portraits, letters, and gestures. Over 365 drawings have been completed by the time of the Open Studio in June 2025, displayed as a site-specific installation alongside a petrified wood trunk - a symbol of time, resilience, and non-linear transformation. This installation, combining the petrified wood trunk, the thousand coffee-on-Dzo paper works, and a video, invites viewers into a space where personal and collective memories blend.

Additionally, Lam Na presents her latest terracotta sculptures, inspired by the Sa Huynh culture - a prehistoric civilization in Central Vietnam known for its extensive maritime trade networks, whose origins are variously dated by scholars between 1000 BCE and 200 CE, existing in parallel with the Dong Son culture in the north. Using found objects from prehistorical caves in Quang Nam, such as jewelry linked to Sa Huynh culture, she integrates them with terracotta to create sinuous sculptural blocks resembling hides, moving away from the flat panels of her earlier works. Pieces like A Piece of Elephant Skin (2025, dia. 32 cm), A Letter from the Sa Huynh People (2025, dia. 34 cm), and Star Map (2025, dia. 34.5 cm) serve as messages from the past, exploring time and cultural memory. She views these objects as signals from ancient times, a cross-temporal dialogue in which she acts as a messenger. Her Open Studio, titled It's Been Many Years Since We Last Met, transforms the space into a "first garden," where old and new works, from terracotta to Dzo paper, coalesce in a sacred environment, evoking connection and rebirth.

The artist, born and raised in Vinh, describes these encounters as “soft-inelastic collisions,” where different eras touch without conflict, creating something entirely new while retaining the essence of each element. This approach contrasts with traditional preservation methods. Rather than isolating materials in controlled museum environments, she enables historically inspired elements to continue evolving in new contexts.

The voice of fossilized creatures gradually emerges through the artist's gentle narration:

It’s been many years since we last met

On fossilized skin

There’s a mark shaped like wings

Perhaps from…

a beetle

on its eternal migration.

It paused at the moment

our eyes

met

just to say

I’ve arrived at the place once promised

It’s been many years since we last met.

-LN

In an era where everything happens rapidly and often goes unnoticed, Lam Na's return to primitive processes and her exploration of earth's many layers reminds us that the past is not something to be preserved in stasis but a living force that continues to shape our understanding of matter, time, existence, and impermanence. The artist continually pushes the boundaries of terracotta, from Phung Nguyen fingernail marks to Sa Huynh jewelry, from ancient seeds to coffee drawings on traditional Dzo paper. Perhaps this mirrors how the artist herself perceives her craft - not as something fixed or previsualized, but as a process that naturally allows materials to tell their own stories. In a world overwhelmed by definitions and rules, her approach brings breath of fresh air, reminding us that the past is always in motion, evolving alongside the present and ceaselessly shaping and transforming our perceptions of both the now and the future.

*Sending sincere thanks to photographer Tran Tuyet Nga and video editor Tran Thao Linh for accompanying and supporting the creation of the video.