Danh Võ has become internationally known for his highly critical work, which directly challenges and deconstructs past and present images and ideas using improvisation and deconstruction to investigate these structures. His latest exhibition, which opened at the White Cube in London during Frieze week against the background of the upcoming US election, discusses in detail the impact of power structures on personal and collective identity, criticizing the current disintegration of ideological systems—a very resonant theme. in today's political climate and Trump's election.
At first, one piece sets the tone and establishes itself as the central statement of the exhibition: a distorted and bent rendition of Venus standing in front of an American flag, surrounded by precarious plywood structures. This dramatic scene suggests that the era of respectability, austerity and commemoration associated with ancient statues and temples has faded, leaving only fragments of civilization, democracy and freedom in an increasingly fragmented and fragmented world.
Throughout the exhibition, Võ's work evokes the kind of deconstruction inspired by philosophers such as Friedrich Nietzsche and later Martin Heidegger and Gilles Deleuze, dismantling the vision that once characterized Western civilization. These philosophers asserted that the construction of paradigmatic ideas are merely tools for changing worldviews at both individual and collective levels, asserting that religious and political myths have long prioritized abstract ideas over reality, reducing the complexity of concrete and historical reality to rigid, limited constructs. .
Võ envisions these metaphysical structures—built to contain and enforce order in a chaotic yet dynamic reality—with pinewood scaffolding that partially blocks physical and visual access, hinting at nature's fragility and instability. Among these dangerous structures on both floors of the exhibition are fragments of religious idols and political propaganda, which show their conflict with historical reality and remind us how the society of that time has destroyed the philosophical and religious foundations that were rooted in which Western thought focused. .
On the ground floor, Võ presents an overly critical or perhaps scandalous commentary on today's politics, leaving little room for interpretation. The exhibit addresses the failure of civilization to sustain political principles and order: By Nancy Spero Everything written is pigshit(1969), quoting the French poet and playwright Antonin Artaud and criticizing the failure of writing to make powerful statements, confronts Leon Golub's 1976 portrait of Spanish dictator Francisco Franco. These works suggest that, in a controlled society, knowledge becomes both constructed and determined, designed to promote temporary acceptance within a political system that forgets democratic values. parrot.
Descending the stairs, visitors encounter a 16th-century bronze statue of Christ crucified, hanging, with both arms stripped and a promise of redemption. In it, Võ presents the pillars of the “images of thought” placed on religion, philosophy and politics as lifeless relics of the magic they once held. These things include the failure of “representational thinking,” where principles hold value only if they conform to pre-defined forms or ideas established by authority. This concept, which is deeply rooted in Western philosophy—from spiritualism to the ideas of René Descartes and Immanuel Kant—limits knowledge to fields that are compatible with our understanding, restricting the creative processes necessary to gain new knowledge in the world. Ultimately, this functionalist thinking, which relies on defining the present from the past, leads to a limited worldview governed by exchange forces that control social norms and prevent engagement with the future.
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Some of the works in the exhibition look at how the global diffusion of cultural symbols has removed their great symbolic value, often spanning centuries. The discarded cases with Coca-Cola and Johnnie Walker logos contain wooden carvings from biblical stories and a pieced wooden body. putto-all reduced meaning through overproduction and endless distribution, leading to global homogenization. Bas-reliefs smuggled and hidden inside a RIMOWA suitcase refer to the global elite who engage with these symbols within the framework of tourism while ignoring the deep cultural histories of the societies that created them.
Similarly, a series of bronze sculptures from East Asian stone artefacts depicting Hindu and Buddhist figures show a history of cultural sacrifices that stripped these sacred objects of their spiritual significance. Viewed from behind, the bronzes reveal invisible patterns left by pirates who hacked and sawed into their stone towers to satisfy the wants and desires of Western collectors.
Other works in the exhibition demonstrate an appreciation of craftsmanship, celebrating performance and creativity as pillars of human creativity. A collection of floral canvases originally painted by female artists in Northern Europe between the late 19th and early 20th centuries traveled to Thailand, where the artists used stamping in calligraphic writing. These objects, which have passed into modern times, retain the aura of devotion to the “religion of doing” and serve as evidence of cultural exchange that has furthered human progress.
Violently removed from its context and introduced to the endless commercial circulation of things, art and artifacts and ruins are reduced to the remains of a civilization that has continually destroyed its idols, weakened its systems of law and order and stripped itself of holiness and spirituality. The absence of new beliefs on which modern life is based, combined with extreme relativism, creates a sense of cultural confusion, leaving people wandering around world events without a historical conscience—a struggle plagued by world chaos, which may result in dark forces.
However, Võ's quiet, bitter reflection also suggests the possibility of redemption through the work of art, which still allows people to shape a sense of reality and, thus, resist, adapt and endure whatever socio-political climate they find themselves in. When faced with the task of making sense of the world, creative thinking enables people to challenge established worldviews while asking deeper questions and engaging with the reality of an ever-changing universe—requiring new ways of interpretation.
Võ's work is consistent with Gilles Deleuze's idea that art alone can trace new worlds of meaning by embracing the complexity and constant change that exists in reality, beyond the limitations of past prescriptions. This show suggests that only by engaging with chaos in new creation can humanity progress on both an individual and collective level—true thinking is a creative act, freed from imposed laws, conventions and outdated idols.
Danh Võ's show will be on view at White Cube London until 16 November.
