The exhibition held for the first time in Hanoi titled "The Art of Vietnamese Contemporary Poonah Paper" attracted the attention from many art lovers. It also marked the return of traditional poonah paper after years of being neglected.
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| Visitors to the exhibition love to see paintings on poonah paper. |
Poonah paper is made from the bark of the Rhamnoneuron plant through complicated and precise processing steps. The craft of making poonah paper was practised and handed down from generation to generation in some craft villages in the northern delta area.
In the past, kings and mandarins used poonah paper to write valued records and certificates while ordinary people used it to draw on and print books, prayer-books, folk paintings, pictures for worshipping, etc. Over the years, the craft of making poonah paper declined and nowadays there is only one hamlet in the northern province of Bac Ninh where villagers are still engaged in the craft. It is Dong Cao Hamlet in Phong Khe Commune, Yen Phong District.
In Viet Nam poonah paper has been known for many years through the folk paintings of Dong Ho or paintings for interior decoration. However, to be recognised as a unique material in the national fine arts, like silk and lacquer, poonah paper has to show off its superior values.
It can be said that no other kind of paper is as durable as poonah paper. Many paintings and valuable certificates written on poonah paper more than five centuries ago are still intact without discolouration and the scripts are as sharp as the day they were written.
Centuries ago painters used large size poonah paper for sketching or painting for fun. In the 1980s, it began to draw more attention from artists due to its ivory colour and value of high expression. It highlights strong strokes as seen with oil paintings, and brings colour to the forefront as seen with lacquer and silk paintings.
The first exhibition on "The Art of Vietnamese Contemporary Poonah Paper" is a turning point that confirms the role of poonah paper in the Vietnamese painting art. After many years of being overlooked, it is mentioned as a material of typical Vietnamese uniqueness.
Painter Phan Cam Thuong, who has used poonah paper for many years, said that painting on poonah paper requires skills that go beyond being a painter. Characteristically, the paper is very absorbent and tears easily so many hours of practising and sampling are required before success can be achieved.
In Viet Nam this paper is popular with painter who uses the gouache technique, water colours and paints made from natural material. Poonah paintings look either warm or shiny, but always with a pure beauty. Under each layer of colours, the painting expresses something very uniquely traditional.
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| Poonah pulp is mixed into water, then being pressed into papers. |
In recent years customers from many countries, including Japan, France and the United States have recognised the value of poonah paper and they made big orders with Doan Van Truong, owner of the poonah paper making workshop in Dong Cao Hamlet. Domestic painters also consider this paper as a companion on their journey with a hope to find something new for their paintings and preserve the value of this traditional painting material as well.