Hanoi artist carves a Tet niche with 2022 unique tigers

Phat got the idea of creating a collection of tiger statues and other artifacts two years ago, but only started working on it two months ago.

He said many of his tiger-inspired artworks present a more endearing image of the feline to change people’s perception of tigers as a ferocious animal. Each work is not only a display piece, but it also serves a functional purpose, based on its size and shape, he added.

Some of the tigers he has made can serve as flowerpots, tea tables, chairs and other useful items.

Phat said he has applied many artistic elements, including realism and abstraction that he learned in art school.

He has also incorporated different materials including jackfruit wood, laterite wood and lacquer, Phat said.
“All works are designed and crafted by me. Each piece is unique,” he said.

“These are materials that are easy to find. I want to show that Vietnam is rich in natural resources, providing many opportunities for artists like me to express our creativity.”

He said the process of making the tigers was time-consuming as it had to pass through many stages, from carving, sanding and lacquering and smoothing to putting the finishing touches.

Each piece is made entirely by hand to make its unique. The lines, patterns, colors, sizes and personality of the tigers depend on what the artist is feeling at that time.
Depending on the size, each work can take anywhere from a few days up to a month to complete, Phat said.

Among the works, the set of five tiger chairs took the most time for Phat to complete.
The set includes five chairs with five colors representing the five elements: earth (yellow), fire (red), wood (green), water (black) and metal (white). Each chair is 1.2 m wide, 1.5 m long, and weighs 60 kg.

He has created nearly 1,000 tigers so far and expects to complete the collection of 2,022 tigers on the occasion of April 30, the National Reunification Day.
Vietnamese will have a nine-day break for Tet, or Lunar New Year, the country’s biggest holiday, starting from Jan. 29.