Võ Trân Châu (b. 1986, Binh Thuan) was born into a family of traditional embroiderers. She understands the power and materiality of threads and fabrics, and chooses textiles, particularly found fabrics and second-hand clothing, as materials for her artistic practice. By deploying these materials, imbued with their own personal stories, Võ portrays how strongly history reflects on the grand narrative of nation states and society. She delves into the social and cultural history of Vietnam to highlight issues surrounding labor, consumption and waste. Selected exhibitions include: ‘Lunar Breccia’ (Galerie Quynh, HCMC, Vietnam, 2020); ‘Leaf picking in the ancient forest’ (The Factory Contemporary Arts Centre, HCMC, Vietnam, 2020); ‘Where The Sea Remembers’ (The Mistake Room, Los Angeles, CA, USA, 2019); ‘Unfolding: Fabric of Our Life’ (Centre for Heritage, Art & Textile (CHAT)/MILL6, Hong Kong, 2019); ‘Bodies Survey(ed)’ (Sàn Art, HCMC, Vietnam, 2018); ‘Lingering at the Peculiar Pavillon’ (Manzi Art Space, Hanoi & Salon Saigon, HCMC, 2017); ‘The Foliage’ (VCCA, Hanoi, Vietnam, 2017); ‘Still (the) Barbarians’ (EVA International: Ireland’s Biennial of Contemporary Art, Limerick, Ireland, 2016); ‘Suzhou Documents’ (Suzhou Art Museum, Suzhou, China, 2016).
She received a grant from the Danish Vietnamese Cultural Development and Exchange Fund in 2011 for the exhibition Born from the Land. Her artworks are in Sherman Contemporary Art Foundation, Sydney, Australia; Salon Saigon, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Võ Trân Châu lives and works in Ho Chi Minh City.