Nguyen Phuong Linh

Qi, 2026

A drawn out hissing finds the ears, the sound of an inhaling, exhaling landscape. As if the creatures burrowed under, or the landscape itself, are breathing, Nguyen Phuong Linh's installation tunes into the flows of energy that circulate the seabed, the remnant waters, the atmosphere. Composed of three artworks, each with motorised components that rise and fall like lungs, or contract as would a heart, Qi imagines the landscape as a body whose organs are evolving, in real time, to live in a changing Aral.

Colour-graded photographs of the Aral landscape are printed on PVC sheets, resembling translucent skins that reveal the body's interior.

Qi extends Nguyen's long-term inquiries into the connections between bodies and geographies, and in particular her field research on salt farms. In earlier works, she uses salt to create monumental sculptures, highlighting the material as an integral yet destructive substance for life. Qi reflects her later and ongoing interest in the mechanics of landscapes: she maps their layers, textures, and taste onto bodily structures to explore how the land we live on impacts our genetic memories.