A green Vietnamese guardian dog statue, sitting on a matching green base with a small printer underneath that is printing a landscape scene with mountains and clouds.

翁埃

Digital rendering. Finished pieces may vary.

A Vietnamese fortune teller that lives on your desk

Ask any question. Keep the printed fortune.

Kể chuyển

The story

Family group photo in front of a house, with elderly woman seated in the center, children and adults around her, some making peace signs, some sitting on the floor and some standing.
A man wearing a tan cap and a light gray T-shirt standing in front of an altar with framed photos, candles, and religious artifacts inside a home. A white vase with white flowers is on a table in the foreground.

My grandmother used to go to the pagoda to ask questions. My mother still consults our ancestorel altar in the living room. My generation types our questions into a chat window on our phones.

Our rituals may be shifting, but that longing for certainty when the world doesn’t make sense… that’s still there.

A puppet of a man with glasses and dark hair, wearing a dark shirt and pants, standing on a small wooden platform. The puppet holds a remote control and is connected to wires, with a cart full of tools and a cardboard box nearby.
An elderly man with a beard and traditional attire sitting on a platform printing a document.

film currently in pre production

〰️

film currently in pre production 〰️

My stop motion short film Heaven Doesn’t Speak Clearly explores how technology is changing everyday life and tradition in Saigon. What if a desktop oracle listened to your question and printed your fortune? Would we still go to the temple?

The thing is, a desktop fortune teller is possible to build. So I built one.

I don’t know if the machine knows anything, but I’ve noticed people ask it different questions than they ask their phones. Slower ones.

A fortune cookie message discussing AI and humanity, with text in English and Vietnamese.

Watch here

Above is the working prototype, plus renderings of where I’m headed for the finished piece. They’ll ship out by November 30, in time for the holidays.

Cách xin xăm

How it works

Illustration of stylized blue Wi-Fi signal icon with swirling decorative patterns on each bar.

Connect

Plug in and connect it to your home wifi using your phone.

A stylized blue outline of a dog with swirling patterns on a transparent background.

Ask

Press the button and ask your question out loud.

A stylized drawing of a hand holding a printed fortune with a star symbol on it, surrounded by swirling abstract shapes.

Keep

Your fortune prints, each one unique, yours to keep.

1,000 fortunes included · No mandatory subscription · Wi-Fi required

Đặt ngay

Order now

The Guardian

$249 + $15 shipping · $99 refundable deposit

The Guardian (DEPOSIT ONLY)
$99.00

Hand-finished Nghê statue, ready to answer. Numbered edition of 20.

  • Printer, microphone and light-up eyes built in

  • 1,000 fortunes included

  • Plug in, connect to wifi, ask

A temple guardian for your desk, with opinions. Ask him anything out loud, he answers with a printed fortune slip, part English, part Vietnamese, closing with an old proverb to sit with. He won't tell you what to do. He'll tell you what he sees.

Twenty of him are leaving Saigon, each one finished by hand and numbered.

Shipping by November 30. Pay a $99 deposit now, and the balance when your item is ready to ship. Read more in our FAQ.

Final product may vary from digital renderings.

Hỏi đáp

FAQs