Robert Vilay
As a first-generation Laotian-American artist based in Minneapolis, MN, my work delves into the haunting legacy of the Secret War—a conflict absent from my textbooks and shrouded in silence. Through my art, I seek to give voice to these untold stories and the lingering fog that surrounds them.
The Laotian diaspora has a strong presence here in Minnesota, where growth often stems from navigating the unknown. Despite the challenges of our first winters, building a community, reconnecting with elders, and with the new generation uncovering our origins, we have found a way to persevere.
ARTIST’S STATEMENT
As a body of work, I present components of a greater subject or seemingly incomplete parts of a whole, to illustrate the unattainability of memory and perfection. In a life where we are taught to never be satiated with anything less than achieving the ideal, the evolution of my work forces us to reconsider what constitutes beauty and how we can alter our perspective to embrace and question all that surrounds us.
As a first-generation Laotian-American artist based in Minneapolis, MN, my work delves into the haunting legacy of the Secret War—a conflict absent from my textbooks and shrouded in silence. Through my art, I seek to give voice to these untold stories and the lingering fog that surrounds them.
The Laotian diaspora has a strong presence here in Minnesota, where growth often stems from navigating the unknown. Despite the challenges of our first winters, building a community, reconnecting with elders, and with the new generation uncovering our origins, we have found a way to persevere.
ARTIST’S STATEMENT
As a body of work, I present components of a greater subject or seemingly incomplete parts of a whole, to illustrate the unattainability of memory and perfection. In a life where we are taught to never be satiated with anything less than achieving the ideal, the evolution of my work forces us to reconsider what constitutes beauty and how we can alter our perspective to embrace and question all that surrounds us.
