Bản Đông (At Bản Đông)

Artists from Vietnam played an integral role in both the First Indochina War (1946-1954), where they fought for independence from French colonial rule, and the Second Indochina War (commonly known as the Vietnam War or the American War), which continued until 1975. Artists documented conditions for soldiers in the battlefields, as well as for civilians in the cities and the countryside. They also created propagandistic and sometimes romantic images to articulate and advocate ideological positions. In the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV or North Vietnam), artists were employed by the military or the state; sometimes their works were created as personal mementoes, and sometimes they were exhibited or published during the wartime. According to interviews with the artist, this scene shows images of the dead in the aftermath of the battle of Bản Đông (also known as Operation Lam Son 719), which took place in Savannakhet province in southern Laos, on the Vietnamese border. The battle saw heavy fighting between the communist Pathet Lao and North Vietnamese forces against the army of the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam) and US forces, who aimed to disrupt the North Vietnamese supply line created by the Ho Chi Minh trail.This is a very rare image of the distressing human cost of the war. Most North Vietnamese war drawings reflect a positive and idealised image of life in the war zones, intended to raise morale and instill optimism among the people. Here, however, the artist documents the brutal reality of death and suffering (of both soldiers and civilians) following an especially bloody battle. The artist may have intended this drawing as a personal expression rather than a work for public exhibition.This artwork is part of a significant collection of drawings, sketches, paintings, posters and photographs in Singapore’s National Collection. These works reflect the diversity of artistic production during the First and Second Indochina Wars among artists affiliated with the communist side of the conflict. Many key figures active as war artists during this period have also had a lasting impact on the development of modern art in Vietnam and beyond.