Grinning pigs dressed as superheroes fly through the sky. A fallen angel stares out of a thunderstorm with piercing blue eyes. Inside gloomily-lit rooms, chairs float and flowers bloom mid-air. Welcome to Uot Mi’s world. 

Artists can depict reality or betray it. Uot Mi chooses the latter. The Ho Chi Minh City-based digital artist bends reality to create a richly textured world in which fairy tales and twisted imaginations reign.

Can you tell us about your path to becoming a digital artist?

After high school, I actually failed my entrance exam to Fine Arts and had to attend the University of Economics as a second option. I did economics for two years ‘til I realized I was feeling lost and it was not my cup of tea. So I entered Hoa Sen College which was more like a vocational school – not as “cool” as a university but whatever, you know. I majored in Graphic Design. [Laughs.] I was not that good at drawing or painting.
 
The reality is that there was no school in Vietnam that taught what I’m doing now. For my Graphic Design degree, I was only trained in basic Photoshop and Illustration – that was all. For ideas and concepts, you kind of had to look around a lot, especially on the Internet, to form your own style. It was mostly you who had to pave your own way.

Digitally Manipulated Self Portrait

When did you produce your first piece of art, could you describe it for us?

It was in 2004. It was a photo of a girl sitting alone in a room. She looked lonely. It was when I was still in school and the work was actually an assignment of mine.

Back at school, I had no strings attached and no limits. Everything came out of my personal feelings, everything was intuitive. Every detail or component of the artwork was done according to my wishes. So were colors that I chose. Now that my pieces of art have become my job, they’re bound by the client’s wishes.

Your work is surreal, crossing the border of reality into fantasy. Are any aspects of your own character conveyed in your work?

I am a dreamer. For instance, when I feel blue I just assume that the wall, the table, the chair, everything around me feels just as sad. And so they appear in my works.

Where do you find inspiration?

Mostly the feelings come from my personal life, say, when I feel up or down in my relationships with people, from friendships to love or family. My artworks come from all those personal emotions of mine. You can look at the colors in a work and tell my mood at the time when I created it.

Which artists influence your work ?

There are two. One is the surrealist painter [Salvador] Dali. The other is director Tim Burton. I love Dali’s surrealism and the ideas that turn the world upside down in his works. And I love the adorable characters in Tim Burton’s movies. Both of these styles leave their mark in my art.

Do you think that technology is making a positive impact on art?

I am a digital artist, so I create nothing without a computer. I think technology is a tool for digital artists the way the brush is for painters. At first, we depend on the tool. Later, the tool has to depend on us in order for a complete artwork to come to being.

Digital Art is quite a new concept in Vietnam; how do people react to your work?

Photo manipulation – especially those works that bend realities like mine – are rather new in Vietnam, so quite often local people react like: “Ew, this is insane. This is scary. No, no, no, no.” For the time being, my work is better received by foreigners, actually.

What are some of the challenges facing young artists in Vietnam, especially those who work in digital media?

I have not seen or know of many committed digital artists. Most of the time, when people talk about Vietnamese art, they speak of traditional genres or artists from 1960s or the like. New genres -- digital art for example -- have not yet received much attention.

As for the art scene in general, I don’t think it’s too developed here. I see many talented people who have their own style. Many artists are trying to grow, but there is no playground for young Vietnamese artists. We don’t know where nor how to meet one another or to meet people who are interested in sponsoring our works.

How do you deal with that problem? Where do you meet other digital artists?

I personally organize annual shows for digital artists. I organize the shows, call out for participants, judge the submissions, put together the portfolio and run around seeking sponsors. The show is called “99% Unreal”.

Also, Zideanart – a forum for Vietnamese artists. Or Facebook!
 

What can we expect to see from you in the future?

I will continue being a dreamer. Oh you mean some specific plans? [Laughs.] I want heaps. I am greedy! I want to open a gallery or an art agency. Or become a teacher. Oh, I want to do so many things. I recently started to turn my digital images into animations. And I make dolls. Ah, but the first thing for now is to prep for “99% Unreal” show this year.

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