As much as 4,000sq.m of ceramic paintings have been completed, accounting for 70 per cent of the Ceramic Road project covering the cement wall of Ha Noi’s Tran Quang Khai dike road.

The project, which aims to decorate 6km of the cement dike protecting the city from the Hong (Red) River, is planned to be finished by August, two months before the 1,000th anniversary of the capital.

“This is a social art project for the whole community, which has been supported by various agencies as well as Vietnamese and foreign artists,” said Ngo Thi Thanh Hang, deputy chairwoman of Ha Noi’s People’s Committee.

Apart from ceramic paintings by Danish artist Michael Geertsen and French artist Dominique de Miscault, paintings by many other artists from the UK, the US, the Netherlands, Italy and Spain will be finished soon.

UNESCO will also sponsor a painting of Viet Nam’s intangible heritage portraying ca tru (ceremonial singing), quan ho (love duets), nha nhac (royal court music) and central highland gongs.

The project is set for a Guinness record for the Longest Ceramic Painting. When completed, it will consist of 21 ceramic paintings covering a total of 6,500 sq.m of the cement dike wall. They will depict various topics like art heritage through the nation’s history, decorative patterns on brocade, architecture of the 54 ethnic groups of Viet Nam, Ha Noi – City of Peace and contemporary arts by Vietnamese and international artists.

Most of the ceramic pieces have been made in Bat Trang ceramic village. They are glazed and then fired at over 1,200oC to keep their colours fresh over time.

Then, the pieces have been assembled at nearby workshops and stuck on the dike wall according to design.

VietNamNet/VNS