The work is based on my research during my Fulbright Fellowship. I am investigating the nuances of the word “nước.” In Vietnamese, the word “nước” means, water, country, nation, and homeland.  To ask “nước nào?” is to ask, “Where is your country”?  Where is your home?  This on-going project investigates the relationship between Vietnamese communities and water.  By exploring the subtleties of the word “nước” in traditional arts, myths and legends, I am creating a series of videos, installations and performances that explore notions of water and home in the Vietnamese Diaspora.  Specifically, I have been working with nước mắm (fish sauce) creating a mixed media installation.  The work involves drying  nước mắm to make salt.  The idea is that when  nước mắm is explained to westerners it is compared to salt “it is in every dish and on every table.”  This led me to think about the Vietnamese Diaspora, you can take the Vietnamese out of Vietnam but you can never really take the nước mắm out of the Vietnamese.  Much in the same way you can make salt from  nước mắm but you can never really make the white western salt we are familiar with.  The salt will always retain the flavor and essence of nước mắm.  The nước mắm will be evaporated in the gallery space and accompanied by text written with  nước mắm on rice paper, which is rendered visible only by the slow application of heat.  The installation also contains several video projections.  The first video projection is a 20-minute loop of workers building a boat and the second video is 20-minute of loop an empty guard tower.