When and why did you first come to Hanoi? How long were you there?
I was sent to Hanoi in 1980 as deputy head of the British Embassy. I spent around two and a half years in Vietnam. The Embassy was much smaller back then, reflecting the practical difficulties of the time. For instance, it was almost impossible in practice to import a private car, even for diplomats.
Please share some memories from this time that stand out for you.
I will never forget visiting the festival at Dong Ky. I found a huge crowd walking in procession round the rice fields, carrying giant firecrackers, each about two meters in length and beautifully decorated. There were also silk parasols and lacquered chairs from the temple, all carried aloft. The firecrackers were brought into a large courtyard in front of the communal house, where the village elders sat in black tunics and turbans. The crowd surged round, oblivious of the danger, the drums rolled and the firecrackers were let off in a series of huge bangs and clouds of smoke. It was beautiful and exciting. It was also evidence that, despite the war and all the upheavals of the previous decades, ancient cultural traditions were very much alive.
Another unforgettable experience was meeting the painter Bui Xuan Phai. At that time, not so long after the end of the war, contact with foreigners was not encouraged. It was very rare to be able to meet a Vietnamese family in their home. Mr. Phai had a family house in the old quarter but under the policies of the time each family was only allowed one room. Mr. Phai’s was on the ground floor, looking onto a tiny courtyard. He had built a studio on a platform above the sleeping area. It is astonishing that so many masterpieces were produced in that tiny space, where Mr. Phai and his wife bought up four children – one of whom, Bui Thanh Phuong, is himself a painter.
Afterwards I went there often – I used to bring supplies of paint from my trips abroad and Mr. Phai would talk about his paintings. Some of my photos are of motifs that Mr. Phai loved to paint. He captured perfectly the rather sad poetry of the city at that time. No wonder the streets of the old quarter are sometimes called “ Phai streets”.
You took a lot of photo. What did you focus on? What struck you as especially interesting at that time?
I focused on every day life-street scenes, pavement sellers, markets, villages, farming and handicrafts. People were very ingenious, for example in the many different uses they found for their bicycles. The more I saw of the difficulties of everyday life-such as long lines of buckets in the queue for the peoples’ resilience and dignity .
I was also very interested in Vietnam’s cultural heritage- religion, festivals, temples and communal houses. The country had been through a protracted war and a period of profound political change. Yet tradition was clearly very much alive. Indeed, the outward look and feel of Vietnam had probably not changed much in decades. For all the difficulties and the poverty, there was a wistful beauty and a “spirit of place” in the streets and villages that I have never felt so intensely anywhere else.
Is there anything special you wished you’d photographed but didn’t?
Yes, lots of things. For instance, I love the West Lake, which was a haven of peace and quiet. People used to do their martial arts exercise by the lakeside, moving slowly and gracefully, silhouetted against the early morning mist that rose from the water. For some reason I never got a photo of this. The villages around Hanoi produced herbs,vegetables and flowers for the market as well as handicrafts, such as hand made paper from the village of Buoi. I wish I had more photo of these traditional skills-like the wonderful potteries and basket weavers.
How did the October exhibition of your Hanoi photos come about?
Through the enthusiasm and kindness of many Vietnamese friends. For thirty years my negatives lay in a cupboard. After I retired, I had the chance to show them to Vietpro, a group of young Vietnamese professionals working in London. They told me that there were very few photos of the period-a roll of film would have cost a month’s salary and as far as I know there was no camera shop in Vietnam. They had often heard of the difficult times their parent and grandparents had lived through but had no visual record of the “subsidized period”.
The exhibition was a real dialogue between my photographs and the people of Hanoi. It was organized by KREU and Vietpro, and curated by Kien Pham, a young Vietnamese architect from KREU. The distinguished historian Duong Trung Quoc wrote the captions for the exhibited photographs. The photos ware mine but the selection and the commentary ware theirs.
By chance, it was the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relates between the UK and Vietnam. I was honored that our exhibition was part of the program: we also had generous help from The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Vietnam Arilines and the Thien Minh group.
You returned to Hanoi last year. How many years had passed since your previous visit? What changes amazed you the most? Please describe what struck you as different. What had stayed the same?
The transformation in the 26 years since the start of the open market policies in astonishing. Where there ware once villages producing vegetables and flowers for the market, there are now skyscrapers, hotels, office blocks and flyovers. Cars and motor scooters have replaced bicycles. The peaceful old streets are alive with movement and bustle. Back then, the girls all wore long black trousers, white blouses and conical hats. Now they wear the latest fashions from around the world. How they manage to drive their motor scooters while wearing stiletto heels and miniskirts is one of the many mysteries of today’s Hanoi.
But look closely and you soon see that the hold Hanoi is still there. Go a block away from the main boulevards and you enter charming old residential quarters. Go to the markets and temples and you enter another world. People still prefer to eat at the pavement stalls- but today the choice is infinitely greater. I soon found the old Hanoi charm working its magic again.
The biggest change, however, was being able to mix freely with so many Vietnamese friends, to visit their homes or share a meal at a cafe. Back then Hanoi felt cut from the outside world. Today’s city is a great mix of the world but deeply rooted in a thousand years of history. (http://www.hanoispiritofplace.com/)
Thank you
Binh An
Hanoi then and now
First post at: Vietnam Culture
No comments:
Post a Comment