The Last Drop
Artist
Trong Nhon Do
(born 1941)
Date1991
Object numberAX009672
NamePainting
MediumOil on canvas
DimensionsOverall: 1747 x 1203 mm, 4.4 kg
Copyright© Trong Nhon Do
ClassificationsArt
Credit LineANMM Collection
DescriptionThis oil painting was produced by Trong Nhon Do in 1991. The painting depicts a scene on board a refugee boat and tells the story of 'boat people' fleeing from Vietnam to Australia. Mr Do was a refugee aboard the Vietnamese fishing vessel HONG HAI which carried 38 refugees from Vietnam to Australia in 1978.HistoryTrong Nhon Do was one of 38 refugees who sailed from Vietnam to Australia on HONG HAI in 1978. HONG HAI was a Vietnamese fishing vessel that carried refugees from Vietnam to Australia after the Vietnam War. It departed Kien Giang, Vietnam, on 24 September 1978, and stopped at 12 points, including Malaysia and Indonesia, during its 51 day voyage. HONG HAI was escorted into Darwin, Northern Territory, by a Royal Australian Navy patrol boat on 13 November 1978.
Trong Nhon Do is a well-respected artist from South Vietnam, who graduated from the Saigon National College of High Art in 1963. He was awarded a scholarship to Rome's Palazzo delle Esposizione and later returned to Saigon to teach art.
Since arriving in Australia Mr Do has continued to produce free-standing sculptures of religious and wartime fraternity themes.SignificanceThis painting provides visual representation of events that occurred during HONG HAI's voyage from Vietnam to Australia in 1978.
