Chan Nam Trinh (Ha Noi, b. 1959)
Contrasting with the majestic, unspoiled landscape without humans in Going Back in Time to Hau Thao is the cosy scene of ethnic minority people’s activities. The main characters of both Chan Nam Trinh’s paintings The Spring of the Northwest and The Spring Sunshine are from the Red Dao community in Sapa. These two paintings are hung in the hotel’s main lobby, not only creating a close connection between locals and tourists but also with the hotel’s staff. Ms May Trang Ly, the assistant receptionist at Cat Cat Galerie d’Art Hotel, is a Red Dao ethnic from Ta Phin, Lao Cai. The artist Chan Nam’s works moved her because of the familiar experiences: “The Spring of the Northwest scene looks like a woman who has just brought her child to a friend’s house and sat down next to the woman who is embroidering, and then they talk about life. I find the images in the paintings very close to the life of the Red Dao people, similar to what I myself have experienced.”