Portrait of Vietnam
Over the course of several visits to Vietnam, I found myself drawn not only to the physical beauty of the country, but to the energy, resilience, and candid humanity of its people. This photographic series is an attempt to document and honour the everyday lives that animate Vietnam’s streets, villages, and in-between spaces. Through these portraits, I aim to reveal the layered complexity of a nation that is at once ancient and startlingly young.
Vietnam’s history is marked by both profound suffering and extraordinary renewal. Emerging from a difficult and painful civil war, the country today pulses with optimism, industry, and creativity. Its people — especially the younger generation — move with a forward-looking spirit, yet remain deeply grounded in tradition. This tension between the old and the new, the sacred and the banal, the poetic and the absurd, is where I find the soul of Vietnam.
My focus has always been on candid moments. I am most drawn to the quiet gestures, spontaneous smiles, contemplative stares, and expressive glances that tell a story beyond words. The Vietnamese are remarkably open in their emotions, and even in the most mundane contexts — selling street food, playing games in an alleyway, resting in the midday heat — there is a rawness and authenticity that invites the camera in. I try to respect and respond to that trust.
This series captures not just individuals, but archetypes of life in motion: a grandmother balancing tradition and time, a teenager straddling modernity and myth, a child lost in play or thought. I am especially interested in the emotional texture of these scenes — how joy, fatigue, pride, defiance, and even absurdity surface in the unguarded expressions of daily life.
In essence, this project is not about creating a comprehensive document of Vietnam, but about bearing witness to a set of fleeting moments in a country that continues to evolve. It is about finding the extraordinary in the ordinary, the timeless in the ephemeral, and the human in the hustle.
