A close-up of a serene stone statue’s face, eyes closed, is overlaid with an image of calm, rippling ocean water. White subtitle text at the bottom reads: “[Deep sound of the bell reverberates]”. The mood is peaceful and contemplative.

Koa Pham

Koa Pham (b. 1993, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam) is a London-based artist whose work explores the entanglement of personal and cultural stories. His body of work ranges from sculpture, painting, text and moving image, drawing on modern Vietnamese literature, cinema, personal memory and oral histories. 

Pham draws from distinctly Vietnamese references and experiences, suspended in and informed by their temporal and local specificities. Central to Pham’s practice are intimate explorations of materiality and interrogation of process. Through this, they open untold histories, weaving the personal and cultural through moments of encounter and imbue objects with a sense of longing and nostalgia. The role of text and narrative is central to Pham’s practice, both as a means of contextualising histories and as a storytelling device that spills into new imaginings. 

Pham has exhibited internationally with solo and group exhibitions including After death, something else, Aichi Triennale Partnership Program, Aichi (2025), Bare in Mourning, Datsuijo Art space, Tokyo (2025), Bui-doi, Monade Contemporary, Kyoto (2025), A Landscape of Chance, SLQS Gallery, London (2024), Means of Production, Sheerly Touch-Ya and Shisanwu LLC warehouse, New York (2024), First Biennial Exhibition, The Ballinglen Arts Foundation and Museum of Art, Ballycastle (2023), Wandering Salon, Unthaitled x KAUM Film+++festival, Berlin (2023), The Foliage IV, Vincom Center for Contemporary Art (VCCA), Hanoi (2022)

  1. Website
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    1. Koa Pham and Tra My Hickins, All the waves are home sick for the shore, 2024. Moving image still. Image courtesy of the artists.
    2. Koa Pham, Interpreting a prop in a theatre play, 2022. Photo transfer on aluminium. Image courtesy of the artist. Photo: Le Lai.
    3. Koa Pham, Who has abandoned a strange Durian, 2022. Glow-in-the-dark resin sculpture. Image courtesy of the artist.
    4. Koa Pham, My feathers, 2025. Bronze sculpture. Image courtesy of the artist. Photo Vietnam Art Collection (VAC).