I visited An Dinh Palace on a warm, sunny early spring day. Not counting the respectful foreign visitors pausing before each artifact, I figured that among the more than 20 young people bustling about in ao-dai, with flowers, striking various poses for photos, few knew that they were standing very close to the remnants of a famous theater from the end of the Nguyen Dynasty that has now completely disappeared: Cuu Tu Dai.

Nguyen Van He’s Art Barracks is both a creative space and the daily living space of the artist’s family. It is also the place where artist Nguyen Van He has created numerous artworks using materials he has collected from the remnants of war.