



These are etchings done on plexiglass, 2 with watercolor, 2 with chine colle






New Works by Colin Mikel Northcraft
In 2010 Colin Mikel Northcraft spent 231 days in Vietnam. “No Mercy”, his new show of stencils and paintings presented by the New Mystics Academy of Dark Arts, is an expression of his time spent there.
By creating a series of portraits of Ho Chi Minh, who’s image was an ever present symbol in his daily life during that time, he explores the identity of a country that for many Americans exists only as a tourist destination or the site of American’s most famous failed war.
Ho Chi Minh was the president and founder of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam and led the Veit Cong against American troops during the Vietnam war. His image is displayed in every classroom, office, and home, and on each denomination of currency. The communist government views Uncle Ho, as he is affectionately called, with almost god-like reverence. His image in the American media is distinctly different - as a scourge and figurehead of the spread of communist, and hence anti-American, sentiment.
To some Ho Chi Minh is a martyr, to others a monster. In this series of 231 portraits Northcraft explorers this duality, and tries to reconcile the jungle hell remembered by his father’s generation with the booming vacation destination that the country has become. Finally, Northcraft struggles to assign meaning to his experience as an outsider living within this culture, and contend with the history and reality of overlapping American and Vietnamese ideals which shaped his experience abroad.
Poster by Nko & text via New Mystics




The good news is that I can feel my winter depression starting to fade away. For now, you should check out my Tumblr, because it's being updated more frequently with nice things to look at!

