“The lofty tops rising in their full green splendor towards the sky, or the pillar-like stems, with their straight and gigantic boughs, that spoke of such antiquity of age, of such long years during which they had looked down upon the valley below, where men came and went, and all things were continually changing, while they stood undisturbed and changeless.” -Heidi

How we remember : My mango tree 2024

Last year we saw, for the first time, how mango trees bloom, grow and bear fruit. When new leaves sprouted from the broken branches and small flowers bloomed, I felt as excited as a spring butterfly. When the finger-sized fruit finally revealed its face, my children named it Baby Mango and looked up to the sky more often to see the fruit. Some baby mangoes fell to the ground due to frequent rain and wind, so I kept them home for a few days hoping they would come back to life. The brave creatures that survived Hanoi's hot weather and heavy rains gradually turned an attractive yellow color in the fall. I felt so sorry that the mango tree gave us such beautiful fruit when there was nothing we could do for it. The mango tree just gave us its fruit without expecting anything in return. We are leaving soon. We are leaving this beautiful house and the mango tree behind us. Still, I am very grateful and happy to have the time to watch the trees grow with my children all year round. I remember the strong stems and roots that won't break, and the fresh leaves and fruits of summer days. I humbly tried to capture those memories in my paintings. Good bye, Mango trees. Good bye, all.

Big thanks to

Sheila Schlager (curation) Finerthings.c (poster design) Svetlana Gulubovskaya (music performance)