The limited-edition zine We Had Dreams brings together photographs and letters from the 1950s to the 1980s - found at Yersin Market in Ho Chi Minh City - with images taken by the artists during several trips to Vietnam. In poetic, partly surreal compositions that juxtapose past and present, Leonid Keller constructs a subjective dramaturgy of tradition, romance, and nostalgia, with a particular focus on the individual within a fundamentally collective society. The zine is presented alongside related elements, including works on paper and sculpture.
selected spreads
We Had Drams, 2014
edition of 25 zines, numbered and signed
sewn binding, open spine, soft cover, original photograph
48 pages, 33 x 25 cm
I, Van Lem, 2015
folded letter, screen print on backside of photograph
9 x 13 / 10 x 15 cm
I AM WRITING/ BECAUSE I CAN NOT FORGET/ TIME.TOGETHER/
WHEN WER ARRIVED/ I COULD NOT SAY A WORD/
I WILL NOT SEE YOU AGAIN
installation view We Will Let You Know, 2015I, Van Lem, framed
mahagoni, laquer, steel
newspaper, framed