A picture may be worth a thousand words, but acrylics on canvases tell the life story of a Vietnamese political refugee who found inspiration and acceptance at Belmont University.
Painting a bird flying in the moonlight reminds Tam Mai of his mom, who married young and lived a difficult life in poverty. Brush strokes detail a small boatman crossing a large river and make Mai reflect on how he forsook his teachers as a child. Mixing the reds, oranges and yellows of fall leaves give him strength. A brightly colored landscape brings to his mind the romantic dreams he wants to accomplish with his wife.
These and a dozen other Mai paintings are on display in the Leu Art Gallery where on Monday the University hosted a reception for Mai, a Wheeler Hall custodian.
Mai, who has worked at Belmont for a decade, immigrated to Nashville as a political refugee. He speaks little English but with fellow custodians and his son, a Belmont alumnus, working as translators, he addressed the Belmont community during the reception.
