Homage To Quan Âm, a solo show by London based artist Maria Than, delves deep into the intricate layers of personal identity, cultural assimilation, and the evolution of self-discovery. Drawing inspiration from Than’s upbringing in a Vietnamese-British-French Buddhist family, the exhibition is titled after Quan Âm, the Vietnamese name for the Bodhisattva (Buddhist deity) associated with Compassion, Mercy and Medicine.

Incorporating animation, interactive digital works, virtual reality, AI and computer-generated imagery, the exhibition traverses the artist’s childhood memories marked by the dichotomy between familial and religious traditions, and the desire to fit into more mainstream cultural environments, those that felt more like her non-religious peers.

Homage To Quan Âm serves as a visual diary, narrating Maria’s personal journey of growing up - an account of staying with the trouble of becoming. Facing external racism and discrimination, she denied her Vietnamese roots for a time, leading to a fractured sense of self. The body of work unfolds a narrative that mirrors the fragmented nature of identity formation through three states: refusal, symbolising the fear of isolation from early childhood; understanding, signifying the compassionate appreciation of family; and acceptance, representing the embracing of heritage. 

Homage To Quan Âm forms part of arebyte’s artistic focus for 2023/26 themed The Body, The Mind, The Soul, an exploration of the complex nature of humanity in the realm of technological progress.The exhibition is the culmination of hotel generation, an yearly artist development programme mentoring the next generation of UK digital artists and whose 2023 edition was awarded to Maria Than.

EXHIBITION CREDITS

Artist: Maria Than
Artwork assistants: Caleb Sharpe, Petter Schölander, Jasan Waldura, Mathilde Rougier, Tam Than
Sound design: Maria Than, Ariel Karsh, Ben Ibbotson
Exhibition Production: arebyte
Exhibition Curation: arebyte
Fabricators/technicians: George Browne, Dmitry Timofeev, Peter McNelis, Bertie Simpson, Debbie Spink
Graphic design: Camilla Does

EVENTS PROGRAMME

Opening Party
Thu 28 Mar 2024, 6:30 - 9pm
arebyte Gallery

Artist Tour
Sat 30 Mar 2024, 1:30 - 2:15pm
arebyte Gallery
Artist Maria Than and arebyte curator Rebecca Edwards tour Homage To Quan Âm, exploring the themes of refusal, understanding and acceptance.

Panel Discussion
Wed 10 Apr 2024, 6:30 - 8pm
arebyte Gallery
An open table discussion and oral storytelling exchange with artist Maria Than, Vietnamese designer Sophia Luu and publisher Trà My Hickin, centred around preservation and heritage. Looking into discovery, memory, and resilience, they delve into the political dimensions of immigration and the imperative need to safeguard archives and narratives for future generations of Viet and Southeast Asia diasporas.

Artist Tour
Sat 27 Apr 2024, 1:30 - 2:15pm
arebyte Gallery
Artist Maria Than tours Homage To Quan Âm, exploring the themes of refusal, understanding and acceptance.

READ THE EXHIBITION BOOKLET

ARTIST BIO

Maria Than is a UK-based creative technologist, educator, activist & co-founder of Ricebox Studio. Using Augmented Reality, illustration and AI-generated content, she explores themes of fragmented identity, buddhism, over-productivity, internalised racism and mental health and exhibited in London, Paris, New York, South Korea, Amsterdam and Toronto. She lectures in design, creative and ethics of AI and works at Child Rights International Network as a Digital Designer.

DESKTOP TOUR

Series hosted by artist Marc Blazel where artists talk through their desktop, key folders, bookmarks, and software they use in their work.