Description

Berninneit Art Gallery presents a solo exhibition by artist Hoa Nguyen featuring three new, large-scale drawings spanning up to 8 meters long depicting the forests of Bass Coast.

Artist, activist and ecofeminist, Hoa Nguyen presents three new large-scale drawings that celebrates the forest ecosystems of Bass Coast. Through this exhibition, Hoa expresses her deep love and reverence for this place. During her Visiting Artist Residency at Berninneit Art Studio in February this year, Hoa connected with members of the Phillip Island Conservation Society through a shared passion for the Western Port Woodlands and commitment to environmental advocacy for all ecosystems.

“The forest is a place where Mother Nature manifests her boundless embrace, teeming with life. It has been a sanctuary of healing for me amidst the ups and downs of human existence. Through ten years of drawing the forests, I have come to grasp the philosophy of the "Middle Way", a path of balance between eternal and temporary existence. The forest teaches a path free from extremism and unconstrained by anything that would stifle the innate human quest for freedom and happiness.

My drawings of the Bass Coast forest ecosystem express my love and reverence for this place, reflecting my inner vision of it. My gratitude toward the forest reflects a pure appreciation for life on Earth and a happiness found in the here and now.”

Artist biography:
I am an Australian interdisciplinary artist/activist/ecofeminist with Vietnamese heritage, based on Bunurong land/Southeast Melbourne, Australia. A Vietnamese Rinzai yogi and an Australian bush wanderer with a drifting identity.

Hoa Nguyen studied art at Hanoi Fine Arts University and in St Petersburg at the Repin Institute of Arts, before emigrating to Australia where she has completed a Master of Contemporary Art at the Victorian College of the Arts, University of Melbourne. Hoa was founder and leader of ‘HanoiLink’, an art collective in Vietnam from 2006-2012.

Image:
Hoa Nguyen, The Mangrove 1 (Rhyll Inlet), detail, 2026, Indian ink, Japanese musou black ink, red inked-pen on Archival paper, 500 x 101.5cm.