My own private Vietnam

7-channel-video installation / Hard-Disc / 9min 45sec looped/ 2001

The installation – my own private vietnam – consists of six different projected films and a monitor showing an interview with a filmmaker living in exile. He describes his memories of the country of his childhood and the impressions he gained when he returned to Vietnam to realize a feature film.
The basis of the projected films is my journey through Vietnam, from north to south about 2000 kilometers, which is recorded on about 6 hours of DV- material.

Vietnam is difficult to grasp intellectually, so the idea of sorting and thematically structuring the existing raw material seemed to me the most appropriate and most in line with my personal impression. The six projections intuitively deal with different themes: Stereotype – Magic – People recognizing themselves in the video monitor – War cliché and aesthetics – Propaganda – Private moments.

The individual films are heavily graphically edited and alienated , differ in length and run as loops. In their time sequences, they come together at some points to form a recognizable, either thematic or formal overall impression, only to divide again into their completely different perspectives.

The project – my own private vietnam – reflects of course, as the title already suggests, personal impressions of this country and is not meant to be documentary in any form. Through the revision and graphic implementation, I would like to present my subjective point of view, but give the viewer the opportunity to find his own access to this installation.