Sarah
Nguyen
Columbia, MO
Nguyen is a multimedia artist living and working in rural Missouri. Her Open Spaces project, Break into Blossom, is based on a thought experiment: how would the world have turned out differently if the atomic bombs dropped on Japan in 1945 had never exploded? In Nguyen’s reimagining, Little Boy turns out to be a dud, and instead of detonating, passes through a cherry tree, lands with a thud, and over the years gathers moss and lichen, where we encounter it today in an artificial pastoral setting in the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum, surrounded by cherry blossoms.
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Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum
Viewing Hours:
Monday - Saturday: 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Sunday: Noon - 5 p.m.
Sarah Nguyen
Break Into Blossom
Medium: Foam, Paper, Flowers, Found Objects, Paint, Lighting, and Audio
While many artists seek to show the world as they actually perceive it, others set out to depict a world that didn’t happen, as a form of thought experiment made tangible. Sarah Nguyen’s sculptural installation Break into Blossom is inspired by a short story authored by the artist’s husband, which imagines that on August 6, 1945, Little Boy turns out to be a dud, and instead of detonating, the bomb slices through a cherry tree and lands with a thud, rolling through the pastoral setting before it comes to a stop. Gathering lichen and moss over the years, the forgotten missile appears here as we might stumble upon it accidentally while taking a stroll. Nguyen is a multimedia artist who lives and works in rural Missouri.
Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum
Viewing Hours:
Monday - Saturday: 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Sunday: Noon - 5 p.m.
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