Exhibition: Surf Vietnam

"Surf Vietnam" is the title of an upcoming exhibition project at the Huntington Beach Art Center. The third part of curator Simon Leung's trilogy about the residual space of the Vietnam War, it takes as its main theme the ethical proposition of reconciliation between Vietnam and the United States, mediated by the figure of surfing. Using a New York Times article (September 13, 1992, "Style," p.5) on the return of surfers to China Beach, the exhibition uses the logic of the article's circulation, photographic illustration and elements of its prose to choreograph several meditations on contemporary "returns" to Vietnam, using fiberglass covered foam surf boards with a printed blown-up copy of the newspaper article. As announcements for the exhibition, proto-type boards will be exhibited in various places in Orange County, including the Southeast Asian Archive.

Since Orange County has a substantial population of surfers, veterans and Vietnamese refugees, a primary purpose of the exhibition is to create a space where histories, connections and differences between geographical, ethnic and social communities can be addressed. In addition, the exhibition coincides with the U.S. Open Surfing competition which will take place in Huntington Beach in July.

'Surfing Vietnam" will take place June 28-August 15. For more information contact the Huntington Beach Art Center, 538 Main Street, Huntington Beach, CA 92648; 714/374-1650.