For US photographer Catherine Karnow, every corner, person or moment in Vietnam could be inspiration.
Over the past 25 years, Karnow has come to Vietnam many times to takephotos and dig into the local culture. Her exhibition, Vietnam – 25Years Documenting a Changing Country, opened on April 10. It givesvisitors an overview of her experiences and feelings during her journey.
"Whenever I come back, I find new stories orsomething I forgot to cover during previous trips," Karnow said. "Ialways have a reason to come to Vietnam."
Karnow'sphoto of people at Sai Gon docks in 1990 waiting for a ferry embodiesthe feeling of expectation. Her photo of Ho Chi Minh City as seen fromBitexco Tower sums up the city's sparkling night life. She has alsocaptured images of Agent Orange/dioxin victims.
Theexhibition is sectioned off by time period. It starts with the early1990s, and goes on to General Vo Nguyen Giap, the Doi Moi (renewalperiod), legacies of the war and finally modern Vietnam.
She started photographing Vietnam in 1990 and has returned numerous times for assignments and personal projects.
"My knowledge about and love of the country is profound," Karnow said."It is an utterly fascinating place, impossible to fully grasp, andalways seductive in its mystery."
Karnow's early worksin the 1990s were pensive and full of the kind of question a foreignercoming to Vietnam for the first time asks, said Suzanne Lecht, theexhibition's curator.
"Meanwhile, the photos taken inthe General Giap years, from her initial visit with the General in 1990to her historic return to his homeland for his funeral in 2013, areconfirmation that not only is she accepted in this land – she belongs,"Lecht said.
The Doi Moi works portrayed a countryopening its doors to international trade, she continued. The countryformed foreign alliances, poised on the cusp of a bright future, and washailed as the new tiger of Southeast Asia. The Agent Orange victims'photos depicted the sad legacy of war and tragedy for both sides.
In the final section, New Vietnam, photos depict the youth of Vietnamcoming forward, blazing with renewed energy and a passion for life.
"This is palpable as we gaze at brazen consumption, exquisite fashionand extravagant lifestyles, all merely a dream a scant 25 years ago,"Lecht said.
Karnow was born in Hong Kong and grew upthere in the 1960s. She has taken photos around the world over the pastthree decades for National Geographic. Her father, journalist StanleyKarnow, was the bureau chief for Time-Life and then a foreigncorrespondent for The Washington Post. He was the author of the seminalbook and Emmy award-winning documentary on the country, Vietnam: AHistory, which changed the way the US regarded the war.
"The exhibition is a tribute to my father, who not only introduced meto Vietnam but also always told me I was carrying on his legacy," Karnowsaid.
The exhibition will run until May 8 at the ArtVietnam Gallery, 24 Ly Quoc Su Street in Hanoi. It's one of manyactivities marking the 20th anniversary of the start of diplomaticrelations between the US and Vietnam, and the 40th anniversary of theend of the war.-VNA
Over the past 25 years, Karnow has come to Vietnam many times to takephotos and dig into the local culture. Her exhibition, Vietnam – 25Years Documenting a Changing Country, opened on April 10. It givesvisitors an overview of her experiences and feelings during her journey.
"Whenever I come back, I find new stories orsomething I forgot to cover during previous trips," Karnow said. "Ialways have a reason to come to Vietnam."
Karnow'sphoto of people at Sai Gon docks in 1990 waiting for a ferry embodiesthe feeling of expectation. Her photo of Ho Chi Minh City as seen fromBitexco Tower sums up the city's sparkling night life. She has alsocaptured images of Agent Orange/dioxin victims.
Theexhibition is sectioned off by time period. It starts with the early1990s, and goes on to General Vo Nguyen Giap, the Doi Moi (renewalperiod), legacies of the war and finally modern Vietnam.
She started photographing Vietnam in 1990 and has returned numerous times for assignments and personal projects.
"My knowledge about and love of the country is profound," Karnow said."It is an utterly fascinating place, impossible to fully grasp, andalways seductive in its mystery."
Karnow's early worksin the 1990s were pensive and full of the kind of question a foreignercoming to Vietnam for the first time asks, said Suzanne Lecht, theexhibition's curator.
"Meanwhile, the photos taken inthe General Giap years, from her initial visit with the General in 1990to her historic return to his homeland for his funeral in 2013, areconfirmation that not only is she accepted in this land – she belongs,"Lecht said.
The Doi Moi works portrayed a countryopening its doors to international trade, she continued. The countryformed foreign alliances, poised on the cusp of a bright future, and washailed as the new tiger of Southeast Asia. The Agent Orange victims'photos depicted the sad legacy of war and tragedy for both sides.
In the final section, New Vietnam, photos depict the youth of Vietnamcoming forward, blazing with renewed energy and a passion for life.
"This is palpable as we gaze at brazen consumption, exquisite fashionand extravagant lifestyles, all merely a dream a scant 25 years ago,"Lecht said.
Karnow was born in Hong Kong and grew upthere in the 1960s. She has taken photos around the world over the pastthree decades for National Geographic. Her father, journalist StanleyKarnow, was the bureau chief for Time-Life and then a foreigncorrespondent for The Washington Post. He was the author of the seminalbook and Emmy award-winning documentary on the country, Vietnam: AHistory, which changed the way the US regarded the war.
"The exhibition is a tribute to my father, who not only introduced meto Vietnam but also always told me I was carrying on his legacy," Karnowsaid.
The exhibition will run until May 8 at the ArtVietnam Gallery, 24 Ly Quoc Su Street in Hanoi. It's one of manyactivities marking the 20th anniversary of the start of diplomaticrelations between the US and Vietnam, and the 40th anniversary of theend of the war.-VNA
