'Central Vietnam Đông Sơn Drum' B+W

Dong Son Drum Triptych 

The ancient Dong Son drums of Vietnam depicted scenes of daily life and war, animals 🐒, birds 🐦 and boats ⛵️. They were used as musical instruments as well as cult items and were cast out of bronze between 600 BC – 300 AD. They symbolized wealth and prosperity and were treasured items in local villages. Using landmarks, everyday patterns, other influences from living here and travelling up and down the country I have designed my own personal drum faces to represent each region of Vietnam.

Central Vietnam

In the outside ring, in a similar fashion to the North Vietnam drum there’s a chronological, visual narrative to follow. Relief carvings that represent the early My Son era that lead into images of domestic development and Dong Duong style, caricature sculptures. In the bottom half of the outer ring the styles develop further into the later My Son era, with Thap Mam style elephants and makaras and finally more recent images of modern day.

Towards the inner circles notable landscapes and sites make up the geometric shapes with a different selection of iconic transport to match up with other parts of the triptych.

Digital reproduction 42x42cm