Time is now inside me..., 2024

ANTONIUS-TIN BUI
Time is now inside me, transfer and possession, never holding anything back, indifferent to my illegitimacy, disinterested in my grief, pierced with all of my joy. Inside me, a second, better person, furnished with perfect recall- my convict, my warden, my guest, my host, 2024
24 x 18 inches
Cyanotype print on Shiramine paper
Limited edition of 5 Hand-Embellished Prints
Limited edition of 20 Signed and numbered prints with 5 APs
All prints signed and numbered by the artist 

Antonius-Tín Bui (Bronx, 1992) is a polydisciplinary artist and shapeshifter invested in the transformative potential of improvisation, portraiture, craft, and ritual. Bui explores themes of eroticism, honoring ancestors and traditions, finding joy and potential in breaking, glitching, and illegibility and rebuilding from a fractured tongue/culture. They explore the porousness of skin, and how patterns, vessels, and other beings fuse into the flesh to acknowledge our interconnections in their work.

This print is a cyanotype of an existing hand-cut paper piece of the same title, Bui enjoys experimenting with the cyanotype process for many reasons including engaging with the history of photography and playing upon the color scheme of blue and white porcelain to emphasize the relationship between that pottery and a history of orientalism. This particular piece builds upon their previous works in which they hybridize the human form with Vietnamese vessels found in permanent museum collections around the world. The intentional shattering of these forms is a metaphorical way to free ourselves from systemic forces. Bui will embellish 5 prints in the edition with hand-cut elements, different paint washes, and gold leaf, making each unique. 

Bui’s intensive paper-cutting process is exceptionally meditative; each sheet of paper represents an archive of memories and oral histories, mirroring the intergenerational trauma that so many refugee communities are faced with. Through their rigorous and reductive process, they deconstruct the white canvas, metaphorically carving out space for the narratives that are so often omitted from recognized histories.  

They are the child of Paul and Van Bui, two Vietnamese refugees who sacrificed everything to provide a future for their four kids and extended family. Born and raised in Bronx, NY, Antonius eventually moved to Houston before pursuing a BFA at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MIC/A). 

This print is part of a suite of limited edition prints by a group of moniquemeloche artists commissioned on the occasion of EXPO Chicago 2024 in order to amplify the necessity and power of creativity in shaping inclusive civic discourse. Proceeds will benefit the artists and For Freedoms’ upcoming initiatives. 

PLEASE NOTE: 

• Unframed prints ship within 1-3 weeks and framed prints ship within 4-6 weeks.
• International customers are responsible for all duties, taxes, and VAT fees.