Hanoi - Not just "A time to remember"

In the 86 photos on display, British photographer Andy Soloman contributed 52 (taken from 1992 - 1998), Hanoi-born photographer Le Bich contributed 34 (taken from 2000 - 2012). With Hanoi as the main backdrop, all are black and white photos, at first glance viewers may think that the photos were taken by the same photographer. However, each photographer has a different approach to life in depth.

1.

When he took his first photos of Hanoi, Andy Soloman was in his 30s; Le Bich was around the same age. That is, they were both young men who loved photography and Hanoi. One from England, a foreign land, had no idea that October 1992 - when he first set foot in Hanoi - would be the moment that would change his entire life. He lived here for the next 6 years and Hanoi inspired him to capture images of the lives of the people here.

In the 1990s, in the early years of the country's Doi Moi, the changes in Hanoi according to Andy Soloman were still very small and difficult to notice. The main means of transportation for people at that time was still bicycles, very few motorbikes, and even the city's first taxi company was launched at the end of 1993. Although not limited in space, in 52 photos, viewers noticed that Andy focused his lens on the sidewalks and streets - where most daily activities took place. Most of all were images of children and people of working age. Cyclo drivers, tile carriers, coal miners, stone carvers, bicycle repairmen, carpenters... could not hide their difficult, hard lives; but at the same time, they appeared with resilience and optimism. Many smiles appeared, from adults to children, regardless of the work they were doing.

These photos helped Andy Soloman “reminisce about Hanoi, preserving what existed in the past that may no longer exist today”. At the same time, they also helped him realize one thing that has remained unchanged over time, from more than 30 years ago until today, which is the warmth of Hanoians towards visitors to this city.

2.

For photographer Le Bich, he was born and raised in Hanoi, at the time he took photos - Hanoi had undergone great changes. The city's economy began to develop after the US lifted the embargo (1994) and "people enjoyed happiness from the Doi Moi process". Hanoi's life is associated with milestones: Thanh Tri Bridge was built, Truong Chinh Street was expanded, the 14th APEC Conference was held in Hanoi; besides the clearance and demolition of neighborhoods...

Le Bich looked at Hanoi with the eyes of someone who understands Hanoi and has witnessed the changes in the city. Therefore, the photos he took are not only those of someone observing life, but also of someone who associates life with the city's historical and temporal milestones.

Hoan Kiem Lake, Long Bien Bridge, construction workers, sidewalk barbers, blacksmiths, portrait painters... are probably all equal in contributing to the history of the city, and the photographer's point of view, besides joy, also has some low notes. Le Bich welcomes the change, at the same time, he does not hide his regret that the change he sees and records may be the last images of a certain person, of a certain profession, a certain job - over time it will disappear and leave a void that is difficult to fill.

3.

Within the framework of the exhibition, the discussion on October 12 with the participation of two authors and two guests (Writer Truong Quy, Mr. Peter Rimmer - Director of the Indochina Media Memorial Fund) and some characters in the photos really brought joy and emotion to the exhibition atmosphere.

At the exhibition space, photographer Le Bich met again a face he took in the photo "Fan" at the farewell live show of the Rock band Buc Tuong - performed at the Giang Vo Exhibition Center (2006). The character named Tien Dat shared: When you look back at the photo, you still feel full of energy. There are moments in your mind, when someone reminds you of it in a photo, it is truly precious, and money cannot buy it. According to Dat, a photographer is known not for the equipment he uses, but more importantly, what he captures so that the moments are remembered by others forever.

Photographer Andy Soloman reunited with a group of primary school students in the photo “Morning Assembly, Nguyen Du Primary School, Ly Thai To” (1992). They took turns identifying “who is who” in the photo - 32 years ago, when the photographer clearly remembered the morning he went to school, while the characters themselves were only at the age of “having some things they remember very much, some things they only vaguely remember”. Joy and happiness could not be hidden in the eyes and faces of each character. A member of the group shared: “When we saw this photo, we called each other on Facebook and memories came flooding back... That time was quite difficult, we wore slippers, and did not wear uniforms to go to school like students today. These are beautiful memories that we will always keep.”

Appearing unexpectedly, former announcer Ngoc Tram of Vietnam Television - the character captured in the photo "VTV Host Thanh Hung and Ngoc Tram" moved the author of the photo. Ms. Ngoc Tram belonged to the first generation of professional announcers recruited to the Television Station, working with rudimentary equipment but loving her job, wanting to contribute a small part to the development of VTV as well as the country. She said happily and emotionally when looking back at her image more than 30 years ago: "I was really surprised because I could not imagine that this photo existed. This is a great fortune in the memories of my life".

Answering the question of whether the original photos in the exhibition were color or black and white, Mr. Andy Soloman said that he took both types of photos, but he loved the black and white genre so he developed all of them in black and white. “Hanoi, Vietnam is a very colorful place. Sometimes I think black and white photos are more colorful than color photos,” he said.

Mr. Andy Soloman also shared: The images we see in photos, in reality they pass very quickly. Maybe today that image is in front of our eyes but tomorrow it has disappeared. For a photographer, the most difficult thing, the biggest challenge is when you live a long time in a place, your mind through the eyes sees everything as familiar - but you should keep the emotions, the excitement to find new things in common everyday things.

One lesson Andy advises photography enthusiasts is to shoot continuously every day, because “what you shoot today will no longer be there tomorrow, it will change. Keep the present moment, after a while, the emotions you bring will be the same as the emotions we have in today’s exhibition”.

For viewers, perhaps anyone who comes to this exhibition can feel that the 86 black and white photos are not just black and white, not just nostalgia for Hanoi in the past, but this is also a mirror that helps us clearly recognize ourselves; know how to appreciate and preserve the good values ​​that we have enjoyed - because many people created them.