Nguyen Quoc Dan’s art does not just depict waste; it explores possibility, transformation, and redemption as pathways toward sustainability.
His sculptures—raw and powerful—demand attention, serving as a stark call for change. Living among the serene, lantern-lit streets of Hoi An, a city celebrated for its historic charm and riverside beauty, Dan’s works challenge the quaint aesthetic of his surroundings, offering a new perspective on life.
From landfills to art
Nguyen Quoc Dan, a visionary artist, sees art in what others discard. Reflecting humanity’s wastefulness, his work advocates for a more mindful approach to sustainability. His journey, from scavenging landfills as a child to creating powerful installations in his Hoi An studio, is a testament to his artistic ingenuity and a plea for environmental awareness.
Dan’s art reminds us that even amid modern debris, beauty waits to emerge. His message is clear: It is time to reconsider how we view discarded objects and reexamine our relationship with the world around us.
For Dan, art goes beyond form or technical skill. While others find beauty in polished marble or refined bronze, he discovers it in broken shards of plastic or twisted remnants of metal—objects discarded without a second thought.
This fascination with the forgotten defines his artistic philosophy. “So much of the world fights for people, for animals, for nature,” Dan reflects. “But who fights for what’s left behind? For the things we discard without thinking twice?”
His question resonates, uncomfortable yet urgent. In a world increasingly conscious of the environmental toll of human excess, Dan’s work provokes society to rethink its relationship with waste. His art is not just creative expression; it is a form of activism, a movement toward recognizing beauty and potential in what others see as refuse.
Dan’s connection to waste began early. Growing up in a modest household, he often accompanied his mother to local landfills to scavenge for items they could reuse or sell.
Amid piles of discarded objects, Dan first saw the hidden stories within the things people throw away. He saw remnants of lives, symbols of society’s carelessness with belongings—and, ultimately, with the planet.
Pulling toward waste
As a young artist, Dan’s formal training introduced him to traditional sculpting methods, but something in him rebelled.
While his classmates molded stone and bronze, Dan felt a compelling pull toward discarded materials—the items society deemed worthless. “It wasn’t nostalgia,” he explains. “It was a realization that what we throw away reveals more about us than what we choose to keep.”
By the time he graduated from the Ho Chi Minh City University of Fine Arts in 2009, Dan had embraced his unconventional vision. His medium would be the discarded remnants of daily life, transforming waste into art.
Every broken piece of plastic, every rusted fragment, became fuel for his creativity. His work evolved into an exploration of humanity’s wastefulness, while also celebrating the potential for redemption and transformation in discarded materials.
Dan’s vision reached new heights with his project Loai Phe Lieu—translated as “Species of Waste” or “Scrap Species.” This two-week exhibition, which concluded on October 20, 2024, captures both the artist’s journey and the essence of his materials.
His sculptures, forged from tangled plastic and industrial rejects, transcend mere physical form to become statements. Each piece serves as a monument to society’s environmental impact, bold and chaotic in a way that mirrors our world’s struggle with sustainability.
The title itself, Loai Phe Lieu, carries a deeper meaning. Dan treats waste not as a lifeless object but as a living entity, a “species” born from human negligence. Through his work, he raises a powerful question: If waste is a byproduct of our existence, how can we learn to coexist with it responsibly?
Dan’s first major exhibition in HCMC provided a stark contrast to the city’s refined Pasteur Street. Visitors wandered through the exhibit, eyes wide as they absorbed the jagged forms of twisted plastic and industrial remnants.
A cry for environmental action
Nguyen Quoc Dan’s art does not seek to comfort; it aims to provoke. In the afternoon light, his sculptures gleam, casting fractured shadows that seem to dance. The rough textures and jagged edges narrate a story of the discarded and overlooked. But upon closer inspection, the chaos reveals a deeper narrative: a rebirth from the refuse, a harmony found in unexpected places.
“The art is not just about what’s lost,” Dan explains. “It’s about what can still be saved.” His unnamed pieces invite viewers to find their own meanings, to see transformation in the most unlikely materials.
Dan’s work is deeply connected to the environmental challenges facing Hoi An and beyond. As the city’s tourism industry has grown, so too has the waste left in its wake. Plastic bottles, wrappers, and other debris litter the streets and rivers, silent markers of mass tourism’s impact.
Yet, for Dan, this is not a source of despair; it is a call to action. “This city is a jewel,” he remarks. “But even jewels can lose their luster. The waste we leave is now part of our story. The question is, what do we do with it?”
In his Hoi An studio, Dan has created more than art; he has cultivated a movement. Adults, local children, and curious visitors come to his space, drawn by curiosity but leaving with a new understanding of their role in environmental stewardship. “Art doesn’t need the finest materials,” he tells them. “Sometimes, the most powerful creations emerge from what we overlook.”
The connection between artist and viewer feels more like a conversation—a meeting of minds and sometimes even souls.
Before the world entered the chaos of the Covid-19 pandemic, Dan had already dreamed of something larger: a studio dedicated entirely to “recycled art,” where each scrap of plastic and every rusted piece of metal could find new life. Dan’s vision is to create a space that stands as a symbol of resilience, illustrating the planet’s capacity to heal when given a chance. “This is my dream,” he says. “To create a world where waste isn’t an end, but a beginning.”
Among his works, one sculpture stands out: a swirling mass of broken plastic pieces, jagged and seemingly violent. Yet within the chaos lies a strange sense of life. “When people look at this,” Dan says, “they see destruction. But they also see hope. They see that even in our worst mistakes, there’s potential for renewal.”
Nguyen Quoc Dan recognizes that waste is inevitable. “As long as we exist, so will waste,” he says. But instead of viewing it as a deterrent, he sees it as inspiration. “If we learn to view waste differently,” he states, “to treat it as a resource rather than a problem, we can create a world where even what we discard holds value.”
