Being introduced to Hanoi audiences in May, but during the long social distancing due to the pandemic, the organization of Lam Duc Hien’s photo exhibition “Mekong – Tales of Two Banks” has faced many difficulties. Realizing this, the French Institute in Hanoi – L’Espace decided to postpone the exhibition to January 28, 2022 so that Lam Duc Hien’s photographic works could be introduced more widely to the public.
Lam Duc Hien traveled the Mekong river on a 4,200 km stretch, following its waters from the bustling River of Nine Dragons delta in Vietnam all the way to its source in the snow-covered Tibetan plateau. This cross-continent journey bears a special meaning for Lam as a French-Vietnamese photographer who spent his childhood on the shores of the Mekong in Laos.
“The river is both a boundary and a link. In Lao and Thai languages, “Mekong” means the mother of rivers – it is quite similar to the life story of me, a child raised by its grandmother and aunts. Through many ups and downs, I recognized that my life is similar to the Mekong River. So, by telling the stories of people who live by the river, I want to show my own life.” – he said.
In the series of pictorial narratives, individual memories blend with the collective memories of people who live by and rely on the river. Mekong River is both a boundary and a link between lands, cultures and peoples.
Lam Duc Hien was born in 1966 on the shores of the Mekong river in Paksé, Southern Laos. He arrived in France in 1977 after spending 2 years in Thailand’s refugee camp. He has won numerous awards, including prestigious ones like Leica Prize, the Great European Award, and the World Press Photo, among others. He is a member of Agence VU’ (France). He has testified to the consequences of the 20th and 21st century’s major conflicts on civilians around the world, including Romania, Russia, Bosnia, Chechnya, Rwanda, South Sudan, and above all in Iraq, to which he has attached for over 25 years.
The exhibition is curated by Matca and takes place within the framework of the Photo Hanoi ‘21 program initiated by the French Institute in Hanoi – L’Espace to connect the public with the diverse aspects of photography.
Ha An