Paint your pallet blue and grey

Graffiti Artist Nguyễn Tấn Lực Is Serious About Changing Public Opinion of Street Art

Saturday, 04 December 2021. Written by Mầm. Photos courtesy of Nguyễn Tấn Lực.

As an art form deeply rooted in the streets, graffiti embodies the liberation of creativity from strict societal framing. But like other street creations, it’s never free from public scrutiny due to its urban origin and settings. Nguyễn Tấn Lực, a local artist with 10 years’ worth of “street cred,” is here to change that.

A Decade-Long Pursuit

Nguyễn Tấn Lực has spent more than a decade of his life pursuing the art of graffiti. His works delve into Vietnamese cultural and spiritual subjects at large, and the beauty and strength of Vietnamese women in particular.

“Graffiti is free and unbound by any rules, which definitely reflects my personality. I could see myself represented, thus I’m constantly drawn to the art and inspired to create more of it. I never have to force anything to come out,” Lực tells Saigoneer.

Tấn Lực with Wallovers members.

Look out on a summers day

In addition to working on his individual projects, Lực is also a founding and active member of Wallovers, a group of graffiti and mural art artists that consists of Zkhoa (Trang Nhơn Khoa), Daes (Lưu Đoàn Duy Linh) and Deska (Phạm Thành Nguyên). Having come together in 2017 from different backgrounds, the group members are unified by a common denominator — an endless adoration for street arts.

This shared attribute forges compatibility between the members’ mindset and vision, which is visual-centric, community-oriented, and socially conscious. When observing Wallovers’ artwork, viewers can sense an intimate interaction between graphic arts and urban landscapes, or between the creatives’ personal identities and local influences.

When observing Wallovers’ artworks, viewers can sense an intimate interaction between graphic arts and urban landscapes.

With eyes that know the darkness of my soul.

“These cross-sections are important for bringing arts into our daily lives and making them more relatable and accessible to common folks. They also allow the messages that we want to convey through our paintings to reach more people,” Lực said of both his and his crew’s view of their artistry.

A Painter of Vietnamese Women

Describing his personal endeavor under the pseudonym Cresk, Lực said that he searches for new materials and ideas in the simplest and most basic things. He would diligently watch any scene taking place in the streets, and collect these hidden gems of life in Vietnam, then meticulously polish their rough edges until they are refined as a way to honor these overlooked beauties.

Now I understand! What you tried to say to me.

How you suffered for your sanity.

Female figures appear frequently in Lực’s personal portfolio.

Lực’s personal portfolio features imagery heavily inspired by Vietnamese women. Through his artistic depictions, the female spirit is portrayed as feminine, but not overly sentimental; mysterious, but always outstanding; and delicate, yet incredibly brave. Characteristically local elements such as áo dài and nón lá are also seamlessly interlaced with urban materials, creating compositions that are based on both modernity and tradition. In his latest exhibition, “Urban Layers,” Lực once again captivated viewers with not only graffiti art, but also sculptures to honor Vietnamese women. While his visual works radiate tenderness and energy, the sculptures represent a boldness possessed by contemporary-minded, empowered women.

Swaying Public Perception

Graffiti is nothing new in Vietnam, but there are still common biases that Lực, Wallovers, and all other artists need to overcome. On multiple painting trips, Lực has received sneering looks and unsolicited comments from passersby, and has even been chased from sites while trying to finish his paintings, effectively wasting the painstaking preparations that must take place in order for his creative process to happen. 

“It’s certainly depressing. Not only do I waste my money, but the time, the effort and the heart that I put in also become meaningless,” he said. “However, it’s undeniable that there are some reckless people out there who only care about putting paint, even if it ends up ugly, on as many walls as possible. Such a careless practice has only further degraded the image of graffiti in the public eye.”

How you tried to set them free
They would not listen they did not know how
Perhaps they’ll listen now.

On multiple painting trips, Lực has received sneering looks and unsolicited comments from passersby.

“Even so, graffiti is still an art, one that’s done on a massive canvas of concrete. And like other art forms, graffiti needs complete dedication. From fleshing out new ideas, getting permits from local authorities, to lining up spray cans, I try to be as neat as possible at every single step. Sketching, coloring, arranging the smallest details…There’s not a single thing that I can take for granted, because I don’t want to negatively impact the larger graffiti community and the neighborhoods where my works reside,” Lực says.

A Medium for Positive Messages

The core value of graffiti arts can be encapsulated in the word “beauty.” Beauty that becomes present when the streets are filled with colors and the community’s spirit is lifted seeing another artistic creation has been made in their neighborhood. Or beauty that comes from the profound impact that graffiti can have on society, which is what Lực and Wallovers truly aim to do with their art.

Throughout his 10-year career, Lực has actively engaged in graffiti projects that he considers beneficial to the public. Among these include “City Forest” — a campaign in which 300 “trees,” or paintings made of air-purifying paint, are “planted” across the world.

Colours changing hue
Morning fields of amber grain
Weathered faces lined in pain
Are soothed beneath the artist’s loving hand

Tấn Lực collaborated with another graffiti artist, Người Đá, to create this submission for City Forest.

Lực has also partaken in numerous wall painting projects for children’s houses and orphanages in the hope of bridging the gap between street arts and society’s young members. One particularly memorable design was from a campaign organized by the Red Cross to raise awareness about the stigma surrounding HIV/AIDS, where Lực and fellow Wallovers members created a drawing of an HIV-positive mother embracing her child.

“Through these works, I hope to make a small contribution toward making life more beautiful and bringing hope and optimism to more people. Perhaps everyone will have a more open-minded view about graffiti then.”

For they could not love you
But still your love was true

A mural that Wallovers created for a children’s hospital in Thu Duc, Ho Chi Minh City.

Starry, Starry Night!

And Relax!

Happy New Year and let’s hope for a happier 2022.

John, Nhi, Bi and Betty

This ‘Fantasmagorical!’ image is just one of many ‘nativity scenes’ proudly displayed at the front of houses /business’s. Made of plastic sheeting sprayed with silver paints adorned with flashing lights and mirrors they reflect the large Catholic segment of the local population which, of course, is a legacy of the French colonization of Indo-china. Officially there is no ‘National’ religion but the Vietnamese version of Buddhism is predominant closely followed by Catholicism.

And! Absolutely nothing to do with Christmas – a potted history of the once beautiful Presidential Palace in Saigon – That is until 1962 when two South Vietnamese Airforce pilots changed sides in mid air and decided to bomb the palace in an attempt to assassinate the then president of South Vietnam and his family. – they failed.

The Neo-Baroque Opulence of the Norodom Palace in the 1920s

Few people remember seeing with their own eyes the facade of the building at the site of the former Independence Palace, let alone its interior.

In today’s Saigon, the Independence Palace is best-known as a sleepy tourist attraction, nestled in the middle of a green oasis in District 1. While the building’s current interior seems surprisingly modest for the title “palace,” not many know that the current structure is completely different than the one built in the late 19^th century, which was indeed an exercise in ostentatious opulence built to satisfy indulgent colonial tastes.

The photos in this collection show the original Independence Palace’s inside furnishings throughout the 1920s, when it was known by the name Norodom Palace, after the then-king of Cambodia. From elaborate columns to detailed carpets to elegant chandeliers, the inside of the palace reflected the original architect’s neo-Baroque influence.

The February 23, 1884 issue of France’s Le Monde illustrée featuring the completed palace.

As the French colonial empire extended its control in Southeast Asia, it desired a permanent headquarters. Thus, on February 23, 1868, Admiral-Governor Pierre-Paul de la Grandiere laid the first stone on the site of a new colonial government in Saigon, according to historian Tim Doling.

Beaux arts-trained architect Georges l’Hermitte was tasked with designing the massive Palais du Gouvernement-General, as it was known during the time of its first resident, Admiral-Governor Dupre, in 1873. The palace’s time as a residential building was short-lived, however, as subsequent political reshufflings turned it into a ceremonial venue and seasonal office for the Governor-General — who was then based in Hanoi — whenever he visited the southern city.

The front of the palace as seen from the street.

Governor-General Paul Doumer wrote in his journal in 1905: “When we arrived there in 1897, the palace felt like it was abandoned since it had been left for 10 years. This was because the Governor-General, always based in Tonkin which he administered, no longer lived in Cochinchina other than by exception, in passing and for just a few days.”

An ariel view of the palace surrounded by its spacious grounds.

Flash-forward a few decades to 1962, when Norodom Palace was heavily bombed by two AD6 aircraft. The remaining structure was eventually demolished altogether to make room for the modern version we know today as Independence Palace.

Not surprisingly, the interior decor of the building reflected the French flourishes visiting movers and shakers would expect. From imported fabrics to furniture crafted with the finest local materials, few expenses were spared. Have a tour of the inside of the luxurious Norodom Palace in its heyday below:

The entry hall behind the front doors.

Bedroom prepared for a guest.

An oddly small table for the very spacious dinning room.

An additional bedroom.

The reception room.

A wide, open-air corridor. 

A large lacquer boat placed atop the main staircase.

A gazebo on the palace grounds.

The largest of the palace’s living rooms.

Reception room from another angle.

A smaller living room.

A lounge area in the lobby.

The main office in the palace.

The original palace – a gift from King Norodom of Cambodia in the early 1800’s, was made of wood.

Prince Norodom Ranariddh of Cambodia has just recently died.

And back to Christmas!

And Relax!

Let’s all hope for a happy peaceful Christmas and a better ‘unreasonably kind’ 2022. Love and peace John.