South China Sea Pishkun

One after another, helicopters crash into the sea. Skillfully made computer effects recreate the scene of an American military disaster at the end of the Vietnam War. On the 30th April 1975, thousands of troops, personnel, and officers attempted to flee Saigon. Many of the helicopters carrying them ran out of fuel before they could reach the aircraft carrier fleet and ditched into the sea. Many of those that did manage to reach the carriers soon had to be dumped into the South China Sea to make room for more incoming helicopters. The title, 'Pishkun,' is a north Native American word referring to a place for hunting buffalo by herding and driving them over a cliff. Raised in America from the age of 10, the artist recalls a sense of unease as the media, politically biased towards the war, gave a one-sided account, and engages in work that confronts this account. Emerging from this work is the prospect of other untold elements of the Vietnam War. (KS)