Ha Long
Jiu, 2025
34.5cm х49.1cm - silk emdroidery
Gia Loc, Vietnam
34.5cm х49.1cm - silk emdroidery
Gia Loc, Vietnam
How does the traveller see it?
(Fragment of a post from a Facebook page)
Silk embroiderer Jiu is 70 years old. According to my guide, the reason she’s so small is that during the Vietnam War, Americans poisoned the local population with gas. Not far from Gia Loc there’s a whole countryside filled with these childhood victims of chemical warfare––when you purchase their work, you are helping the disabled.
I don’t rule out the possibility that this could be anti-American propaganda, typical of countries that love American dollars but not the place those dollars came from. Or maybe it’s a marketing ploy. Or a bit of column A and a bit of column B.
Looking through the artwork, I singled out one that seemed to be of higher quality than the rest. There was no price on it, but the other works had prices listed in Vietnamese dongs, and they were in the $100 range. I was already walking over to buy it when the salewoman rushed after me shouting: “Very expensive!”.
As it turns out, the embroidery that caught my eye was the most expensive one in the whole gallery: over $680. It had taken over three months to make. When you’re dealing with silk embroidery, size does not matter. Only quality. And quality depends on the stitching size: the smaller the stitching, the more expensive the art. After a bit of haggling (a must in places like this), this image of Ha Long Bay flew home with me to Ukraine.
I don’t rule out the possibility that this could be anti-American propaganda, typical of countries that love American dollars but not the place those dollars came from. Or maybe it’s a marketing ploy. Or a bit of column A and a bit of column B.
Looking through the artwork, I singled out one that seemed to be of higher quality than the rest. There was no price on it, but the other works had prices listed in Vietnamese dongs, and they were in the $100 range. I was already walking over to buy it when the salewoman rushed after me shouting: “Very expensive!”.
As it turns out, the embroidery that caught my eye was the most expensive one in the whole gallery: over $680. It had taken over three months to make. When you’re dealing with silk embroidery, size does not matter. Only quality. And quality depends on the stitching size: the smaller the stitching, the more expensive the art. After a bit of haggling (a must in places like this), this image of Ha Long Bay flew home with me to Ukraine.
And what do you think?