Mathuật – MMRBX (2022)

“Mathuật” is a combination of the artist’s name, Maithu, and the Vietnamese word for magic, ma thuật, while MMRBX is an acronym for the working term memory box. The work metaphorically associates the Vietnamese ritual of caring for the dead with an allegorical and virtual memory box that stores mnemonic moving images. Heavily contextualized within Southeast and East Asian mythology, where communication with the dead is an integral part of everyday life, Mathuật – MMRBX aims to excavate the wounded past of survivor diasporas (Việt Kiều) that remains invisible to most communities. The artist believes that in a world suffering from postcolonial amnesia, we resist by remembering, as it is impossible for the ghosts and spirits of historical traumas to rest in peace. Bùi aims to establish an archive of personal memories and transgenerational traumas that allows the Vietnamese diaspora to formalize a story of their own.