Mai Nguyễn-Long: Vomit Girl

On the top floor at KW, a cluster of ceramic sculptures depicts different versions of “Vomit Girl“—a character developed by the Australia-based artist Mai Nguyễn-Long. Each of the feminine figures, with shapes and motifs inspired by traditional Vietnamese architecture, is regurgitating, and little coils and balls suggesting vomit are placed playfully about the plinth. For the artist, the character is a way to grapple with the trauma of the Vietnam War. She says that her vomit motif came from “a sense of being erased: having no identity, language, or voice to speak with.” The series stands out from other works in the show by focusing on the emotional aspects of war and imperialism in a playful yet still incisive manner—elsewhere, didacticism and fact-oriented approaches dominate.