Detail of a clock by Mai Chi Thanh produced for the group exhibition '12 o'clock'.

The concept of the exhibition ’12 o’clock’ was initiated by artist Nguyen Van Cuong. The idea was to illuminate the significance of the announcement of ‘12 o’clock’ during Christmas and New Year time – the scheduled period for the exhibition –  as an auspicious indication to welcome a better new year. The clocks presented at the exhibition were designed by each artist individually; they produced their works together in Salon Natasha under the guidance of Nguyen Van Cuong, who was responsible for handling the clock mechanisms. The exhibition was considered by Salon Natasha one of the rare artist-initiated/curated projects, although the idea of ‘curatorship’ remained unfamiliar in Vietnamese art circles back in the days.  Participating artists in this exhibition include Nguyen Van Cuong, Nguyen Quang Huy, Mai Chi Thanh, Dinh Thi Tham Poong, Eric Leroux, Truong Tan, Vu Dan Tan, Natasha Kraevskaia and her daughter Vu Thi Nhusha.