Artist Nguyen Duc Lam uses the image of Tễu, a traditional humorous puppet, to reflect emotions.

Themed Khoang Trang (Empty Soul), it will run for five days from thsi Sunday and show a series of selected works by contemporary painter Nguyen Duc Lam from his 20 years of artistic career. It is a combination of stories about human emotion in life, narratives, dreams and journeys.

Many of Lâm's works contain spiritual aspects as they penetrate deep into the human subconsciousness including that of himself.

The image of Teu in his paintings also exposes the character of arrogant laughter but behind such a funny face is always hiding human moral situations including misery and suffering.

It is full of emotions such as hope, contentment, bitterness and sweetness, according to the artist.

Contemporary artist Nguyen Duc Lam.

Lam, 43, said he wanted to share his experiences of special dreams about humans and the world where he found Tễu was very relevant to help him express his feeling about life.

Lâm uses do (poonah) paper, Indian ink, gouache colour and acrylic as the main materials for his works.

As poonah paper is often smeared and smudged he can rely on that characteristic when drawing to master it in controlling the colour or letting it smudge for his own purpose.

The artist flexibly applies different painting techniques without following any formula.

In this exhibition, he selected 55 pieces of different sizes, marking a transformation and affirming his nuances in his artistic career.