an invitation: roots run wild on threads of memory
it is Spring and with warmth comes new life and new leaves
Dear friends, fellow travelers, and curious minds,
It has been more than two years since I last wrote a newsletter, and much has shifted in that time—ten seasons have passed, bringing change and growth. So, here’s a brief run-through of some key life updates:
I have moved to France and am now based in Paris.
I completed my PhD in Biological Anthropology at Cambridge and am a doctor—though I feel a bit awkward using the title, especially without any medical training…
I now have a permanent artist atelier in Montreuil, Paris, named EARTHLY FUTURES STUDIO. The studio will officially launch next month with public programs and events—so keep your ears pricked and your taste buds ready!
I’ve been working as an editor for Debris Magazine and serve as Deputy Chair and editor for Runway Journal. We regularly put out call-outs for Australian writers and artists (paid opportunities!), so keep an eye out.
These days, I spend much of my spare time gardening, walking in the woods, recipe testing, and fermenting things—a true sign that the final year of my twenties has arrived!
Because of all these changes and shifts in focus and practice, I recently decided to move my newsletter and community to Substack. I hope to continue seeing lots of you here!
And with that, I’d love to invite you all to an upcoming show—the culmination of all this rooting, seeding, weeding, and nourishing. It’s a reflection of what it means to settle into a new city, to be welcomed into a generous community, and to experiment at the intersection of science, technology, food, and art-making.
roots run wild on threads of memory
My first solo exhibition in Europe, roots run wild on threads of memory, will be on display at 15 Beautreillis in Paris from 6 March through 19 April 2025. This collection brings together sound, video projection, silk painting, embroidery, texture, and cast mycelium sculptures to explore speculative familial archives through materials I have smuggled, composed, deconstructed, and cultivated.
The vernissage (opening) will take place on 6 March 2025 at 18h00 at 15, rue Beautreillis in Paris 4e. I would love to see you there!
The exhibition features several key works, each deeply rooted in personal history and cultural memory. Banyan is a large-scale silk painting that deconstructs and reassembles traditional Vietnamese Áo dài garments from my family, forming a canvas depicting a guardian Banyan tree. In 100 silent utterances, I have embroidered ten poems by Hồ Xuân Hương in Nôm on 100 mycelium tiles, an almost-forgotten script of Vietnamese, onto mycelium tiles—living, organic surfaces cultivated as biomaterial. Meanwhile, Rooted Relics uses traditional mooncake molds to cast mycelium objects, symbolising the intersection of food, ritual, and memory.
The exhibition culminates in the bio-installation roots run wild on threads of memory, an immersive experience housed in the gallery’s lower level, its cave. This installation weaves together sound recordings, projections and a medicinal Vietnamese herbal garden grown from smuggled seeds, creating a sensory landscape.
Public Program:
If you’re interested in some more interactive art-making and tasting, I will be hosting a workshop on 3 April, where we will delve into the plants featured in the installation and their cultural significance. We will be tasting the herbs, sowing your own coriander seeds to take home and making a vegetarian Vietnamese dinner with the plants from the show. Information to come…
You can visit 15 Beautreillis for more info: www.15beautreillis.com.
Acknowledgements
Exhibition Poster Design by the incredible STUDIO MIMU
Curated by Quinnie Tan, Director and Founder of 15 Beautreillis
This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through Creative Australia, its principal arts investment and advisory body.
This show acknowledges John Balaban for his translations of the 10 poems by Hồ Xuân Hương present in this work. The publication of Balaban’s translations is published by Copper Canyon Press in his book ‘Spring Essence’, who also offer their support. This exhibition also wishes to acknowledge the Vietnamese Nôm Preservation Foundation (VNPF) for their support, research and advocacy for Chữ Nôm (Nôm script). Their support has been an integral part of the installation ‘100 silent utterances.’
So, here it is—the first of a number of newsletters this year.
Many of you have encountered me as an artist, writer, or sound-maker, but this space will also be seasoned (pun intended) with updates on gardening and reflections on change. I’m setting out to document what is unfurling, both in my work and in life.
After all, this is the final year of my twenties—a time of transition, growth, and new beginnings. What better way to mark it than by tending to the shifts, both personal and creative, as they take root and branch into something new?
With warmth and care,
Victoria