Burial of the Myth draws its inspiration from the evocative story of the toad fountain at the heart of Hanoi’s Dien Hong Flower Garden. Originally constructed during the French colonial period, the garden—then known as Chavassieux Square—featured an ornate fountain surrounded by four intricately cast bronze toads. These figures, spouting water onto surrounding stone pillars, offered a moment of respite from the city's sweltering heat. Over time, the site captured the local imagination, with residents affectionately renaming it the “Toad Flower Garden.”

In this wax sculpture, Nguyen reanimates the toad’s story as a metaphorical portal—an allegory for the complex entanglements between colonial histories, environmental fragility, and collective memory. Burial of the Myth reflects on the ways in which seemingly modest symbols are woven into the social and psychic fabric of a place, carrying within them the tensions of past and present.

Through the toad’s imagined struggle, Nguyen invites viewers to meditate on the ongoing challenges faced by societies reckoning with colonial legacies. At the same time, the work gestures toward the quiet resilience of nature—persisting, adapting, and bearing silent witness to cycles of disruption and renewal. In this space of reflection, Burial of the Myth calls for a deeper acknowledgment of our shared responsibility to care for the environment and to listen to the often-overlooked narratives that shape our surroundings.