Storification Through Art: An Interview with Helen Tran

In this interview, Mariana Morales discusses with Vietnamese artist Helen Tran about her artistic journey as an immigrant, what it is to belong to an artistic community, and the family stories that inspired her body of work.

Mariana Morales: I would like to have a better understanding of you so, how would you define yourself in three words?             

Helen Tran: I would say what defines me is that I’m very passionate about what I do. I love creating. Art, for me, is something that allows to express myself. Also, I’m a very introspective person, so I often reflect on my identity, my culture, my artistic practice, and my surroundings.  Lastly, I was born and raised in Vietnam and then, I immigrated to Canada. So, I would say I’m a traditionalist, mainly because I value my culture and its traditions even more so since I moved here.

M.M: Now, I know that your art practice reflects yourself, but how would you describe your art?

H.T: My work is an extension of my cultural identity. I feel like it’s a way for me to keep my essence and connect to others though my artworks. So, I would describe my art in terms such as tradition, memorabilia and ancestral. Yeah, when I look at my artworks, there is a sense of ephemerally throughout them. I want to convey that feeling of memorable yet transitory, which is why those three terms perfectly describe my art.

M.M: One can certainly discern what you mentioned so far. So, tell me, what do you think it’s integral to your work as an artist?

H.T: For me, what’s integral to an artist is the stories you tell through your artworks, that’s how you connect with people. I feel like, as an artist, you want to share stories that reflect your vision of the world and your heritage. In the end, it’s all about sharing your own story through the medium of your choice and that helps you share it in the best possible way. For instance, in my work I feel like my vision is expressed through the medium I choose, which also conveys something to others. When I was creating the encaustics, which means painting with wax, I wanted to convey the essence of preserving one’s culture through the wax.  So, as I layered the wax on that artwork, it was a symbolic action that represents me encapsulating my heritage.  For instance, I paint teacups in my artworks, which represent offerings to our ancestors in my culture.

M.M: You talked about sharing your heritage with others through art. Now I would like to know if you have any seminal experience that has shaped you an artist?

H.T: Coming from Vietnam and having immigrated here to Canada, I found a large Vietnamese diaspora who fled Vietnam because of the war. In fact, my grandfather, from the paternal side of my family, fought in the Vietnamese war. From the stories I heard in family gatherings, I feel like I experienced the grief of such a traumatic event in our history and made me reflect on how I want to convey my heritage through my artworks. Sadly, my grandfather passed away a couple of years ago, and it only accentuated this feeling of mourning and grief. It really influenced my work in terms of wanting to honour my family and my grandfather. So, his passing was a seminal experience that changed my personal and my life as an artist.

M.M: Thank you for sharing your grandfather story, and I’m sorry for your lost. I understand how the loss of a close family member can affect you on such a deep level. On another note, I would like to know what are your artistic influences or others source of inspiration?

H.T:  I can’t think of a specific artist who inspires me (laughs). I do pay a particular attention to cyanotype artists, though (laughs). I enjoy seeing their body of works and get inspire by it. My others source of inspiration are mainly nature, poetry, and music.

M.M: So, we have been talking quite a bit about the past, now tell me what are your plans?

H.T:  I’m planning to enrol in a master’s degree in printmaking. One of my top options is Concordia University, which would entail moving to Montreal. I love Montreal, its architecture is beautiful. Also, I wish to continue sharing my work, hopefully have exhibitions to do just that, and focus on my creative process.

M.M: This is my last question for you. I would love to know why you decided to join Artasiam?

H.T:  Since I first heard about Artasiam, I was very interested in joining. First because I think it is good to be part of a knit community and I wanted to be part of an artistic community such as this one.  I hope to share my stories, my artworks with the Asian communities in Canada and strive for diversity. Everyone has their own stories and having a platform like Artasiam allows to Asian Canadian artists to share them, so we can focus on our artistic journey while belonging to a great community!