Dinh Q. Lê, Tran Quoc Hai and Le Van Danh

The Farmers and the Helicopters. 2006
Three channel video installation. In collaboration with Ha Thuc Phu Nam and Tuan Andrew Nguyen.

The helicopters are the wondrous pieces for which the video has become their poetic counterpoint. Built from scratch by Le Van Danh (a farmer) and Tran Quoc Hai (a self-taught mechanic) both from Tay Ninh Province (it was here that the US military had their Combat Aviation Battalion and assault helicopter companies), the desire to build a helicopter came as a dream to ‘own’ one of the flying machines, in effect it was a wish to capture it and hold it in their hands. They have since then built three, all done using scrap material and machine remnants that abound in this part of Vietnam. (JC)

See the >> helicopter in the garden