Between Two Rivers | An-My Lê
An-My Lê. Mexican Customs and Border Protection Officer, Presidio-Ojinaga International Bridge, Ojinaga, Mexico, from the series Silent General, 2019. © 2022 An-My Lê, courtesy of the artist and Marian Goodman Gallery
Written by Madeline Lerner
In photographer An-My Lê’s view, there is no time or space immune to conflict. This winter, she exhibits series from throughout her career in “Between Two Rivers/Giữa hai con sông/Entre deux rivières” at the Museum of Modern Art. Through various mediums including photography, textiles, and film, Lê explores how war, extraction, migration, and politics have shaped communities and environments around the world. The exhibition compels us to reckon with our own understanding of conflict across time and place.
An-My Lê. Untitled, Ho Chi Minh City, from the series Viêt Nam, 1995. © 2022 An-My Lê, courtesy of the artist and Marian Goodman Gallery
An-My Lê was born in 1960 in Vietnam, and emigrated to America as a political refugee fifteen years later. Her first major body of work, “Viêt Nam” (1994-98), was taken during her first trip back to her country of birth. Displayed in tandem is “Delta” (2011), a series that links Vietnamese women in the Mekong Delta to Vietnamese-American women in the Mississippi Delta. Together, the two series explore American militarism, displacement, and belonging through an intentionally indistinct intersection of culture, time, and place.
An-My Lê. New Orleans, from the series Delta, 2011. © 2022 An-My Lê, courtesy of the artist and Marian Goodman Gallery
In her series “29 Palms” (2003-04), Lê follows groups of American Marines as they train in the Mojave Desert before deployment to Iraq. At night, an ambiguously barren landscape is illuminated with flashes of light emitted by obscured war machines. She captures groups of soldiers as they fire at targets into the empty valley below. Abandoned homes graffitied with anti-American rhetoric sit among palm trees, the parched California desert stretching beyond. The staged nature of the exercise, along with the reminders of the site’s proximity to Hollywood, lend the photographs an ambiance akin to a movie set.
An-My Lê. Night Operations IV, from the series 29 Palms, 2003-2004. © 2022 An-My Lê, courtesy of the artist and Marian Goodman Gallery
An-My Lê further explores how photographs can blend art, journalism, and performance in “Small Wars” (1999-2002), wherein she documented Vietnam War reenactments in the American South. In the lush forests of North Carolina and Virginia, Lê photographs actors as they bring themselves closer to war as a means of entertainment, tribute, or reconciliation. The ambiguity of the background is a common theme in Lê’s work, confusing the sense of time and place.
An-My Lê. Sniper II, from the series Small Wars, 1999-2002. © 2022 An-My Lê, courtesy of the artist and Marian Goodman Gallery
Throughout her many series, she explores how American militarism as a concept and institution has affected many different communities and landscapes. In “Events Ashore” (2005-14), she documents American naval officers during peacetime trips around the world. The immense force of the US military placed in relatively peaceful international environments produces a sense of disquiet, almost an anticipation of violence. “There is a fine line between coming to help and invading, and it has to do with the physical and economic presence and the ways in which Americans occupy the land,” Ms. Lê says.
An-My Lê. Sailors on Liberty from USS Preble, Bamboo 2 Bar, Da Nang, Vietnam, from the series Events Ashore, 2011. © 2022 An-My Lê, courtesy of the artist and Marian Goodman Gallery
With her “Trap Rock” series (2006-07), Lê exhibits how US wars have affected not just communities at home and abroad, but also the natural environment. Extraction for military purposes has turned once-pristine landscapes into dystopian, ugly reminders of the ubiquitous effects of war.
An-My Lê. Parts Depot, from the series Trap Rock, 2006. © 2022 An-My Lê, courtesy of the artist and Marian Goodman Gallery
An-My Lê has uniquely documented how traces of violence can seep into countless communities and landscapes across the world. See her stunning imagery in “Between Two Rivers” at MoMA through March 9th.
