West Space is proud to present a major solo exhibition by Phuong Ngo. Inheritance is a three-phase project that seeks to reframe the histories of colonialism, conflict, and displacement through ancestral materials. In doing so, the project aims to transform suffering and our relationship to it—to reimagine what was lost and offer it as a gift to future generations.

Presented at West Space, the first iteration of this project centres on Ngo's family dining table—a site of both gathering and punishment—alongside deconstructed reimaginings of familial and ancestral objects. An immersive installation, Inheritance incorporates the material remains of the artist's ancestral home in Vietnam, archival materials, video, and performance. The exhibition seeks to deconstruct and reconfigure personal and geographical relationships, deepening connections with the past, present, and future.

Curated by Amelia Winata, Inheritance connects South Vietnam, Tarntanya/Adelaide, Naarm/Melbourne, and Kamberri/Canberra through post-colonial and familial relationships. Phuong Ngo was awarded a $100,000 VACS Major Commissioning Projects grant from Creative Australia to realise Inheritance.

Based in Naarm/Melbourne, Phuong Ngo is an artist and curator whose practice explores history, memory, and place as a means of understanding the present. Rooted in an archival process within a conceptual framework, his work examines the intersections of culture, politics, and both public and private histories.

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