Phunam Thuc Ha (b. 1974, Ho Chi Minh City), Tuan Andrew Nguyen (b. 1976, Ho Chi Minh City) and Matt Lucero (b. 1976, California) established The Propeller Group (TPG) in 2006. With a varied background in visual art, film and video, the three artists met on common ground to create the collective with the aim of making large-scale productions. With a dual base in Ho Chi Minh City and Los Angeles, TPG integrates a variety of resources and idiosyncrasies into their work and engage with multi-platform and collaborative productions. TPG’s work has been part of important exhibitions worldwide, including the Guggenheim UBS Map Global Art Initiative’s No Country, Disrupted Choreographies at Carré d’Art – Musée d’Art Contemporain Nîmes and various triennials around the world.

TPG explore historical, social and cultural symbols to advance criticism and examination of the state of contemporary society. An example can be seen in Monumental Bling (2013) recently shown in Nîmes, which represents the image of Lenin, the most powerful Communist leader of our times to explore the border between identity and ornamentation, the portrayal of power throughout history and the malleability of personality in the public sphere. In their 2012 solo show at Galerie Quynh, Static Friction, TPG explored the diverse culture behind motorbikes in Vietnam, at the same time reflecting on the notion of space in the city.