In the convention of Vietnamese lacquer sơn mài, light can be seen in a glossy sheen inscribed with silver and gold leaves, egg shells, mother of pearl that has gone through multiple times of painting and sanding. Thus, it is a subtle source of light emerging from a dense radient surface. Born and growing up in Chuôn Ngọ craft village renounced for mother of pearl inlay, Nguyễn Xuân Lục acknowledges that an overuse of mother of pearl will render Vietnamese lacquer no less than a mere decorative intent. Thus, the artist in his works retrieves its utmost potential of embodying light. With that, it doesn’t serve to accompany the painting composition but becomes the main subject of inquiry. With iridescent and shimmering highlights, the mother of pearl in Luc’s works takes shape in series of stardust, rays of sharp lights penetrating the space, crisscrossing each other against the deeply back lacquer sơn then and brownish cockroach-wing-color lacquer sơn cánh gián.

Apart from light, Lục’s practice arises the question of whether Vietnamese lacquer is still in the realm of ‘painting’ and to what extent it becomes ‘sculpture’. Indeed, the artist’s practice goes beyond a flat surface and the conventional definition of painting. Thinking about Vietnamese lacquer as an experimental ground for different forms, the lacquered baseboard vóc is not only confined to wooden materials but also embedded in a three-dimensional form of objects. In the experimenting process, the artist molded uneven or undulating forms, then mounted it with multiple layers of cloth or mix giang paper pulp with raw lacquer to create the baseboard. To achieve the desirable thickness and endurability of the baseboard, the making of the baseboard includes applying resin, letting it dry, sanding then the procedures start over and over again. This repetitive process engenders a lacquered surface of letting go and retaining, eroding and accumulating of time that factors into the very first steps. With time stretched and space extended, Vietnamese lacquer has a great potential for sculpture and thus impels the artist to embark on an ambitious idea in recent years. 

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