After 40 years, the capital city of Vietnam has had countless others, but memories are preserved in the photos that are still intact.
Hanoi 1987 is a photo book shown through the perspective of a young Frenchman. The book is an educational journey, bringing viewers back to Hanoi nearly 40 years ago, the first moment of the Doi Moi process.
Hanoi 1987 is printed in 3 languages: Vietnamese - French - English, with 2 introductions by artist Tran Trong Vu and writer Thuan. More than 200 photos, mostly black and white, with some color photos, are all valuable artistic and historical documents, and it is hoped that it will also evoke many emotions for viewers about a new Hanoi that has entered the New Year, both crowded and filled with hope.
Mr. Vu Hoang Giang - Deputy General Director of Nha Nam Publishing House - said that Jean- Charles Sarrazin's "Ha Noi 1987" is not simply a collection of photos but is a vivid witness to a turning point in the history of Vietnam - the early years of the Doi Nam period, captured through the lens of a young French photographer, full of curiosity and affection for the country he has just explored.
With his camera, he has recorded a fragile but hopeful Hanoi, still marked by the difficulties of life, but has begun to welcome the new vitality of the renovation period.
Those touching and improvised black and white photos show the eyes of an artist - a place where reality and dreams, memories and modernity intersect.
Nearly 40 years later, those photos return to us as a letter from the past, inviting us to find the image of an ancient Hanoi - of youth, of simplicity and of the period of transformation.
Accordingly, some photos in the photo book Hanoi 1987 are also displayed in the framework of Photo Hanoi25 - Biennale International photography held until November 30. This is an art festival organized according to the Biennale model, an art festival that takes place every two years, initiated and coordinated by the French Institute in Vietnam since 2021.
Author Jean- Charles Sarrazin is a photographer and a famous author and illustrator. He graduated from photography and graphic design in Paris (France). In 1986, the photographer had the opportunity to meet poet Cu Huy Can, then Minister of Culture and Arts of Vietnam, at a party in Paris. When Sarrazin said he wanted to study abroad, the poet suggested: "Why not go to Vietnam?".
Thanks to this invitation and a scholarship from the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Jean- Charles Sarrazin has arrived in Hanoi. At that time, it was extremely rare for foreigners to be in Vietnam, and he was excited to seize this opportunity to embark on an interesting adventure.
Jean- Charles Sarrazin studied at Hanoi University of Industrial Fine Arts, and also studied at Hanoi University of Fine Arts (also known as Yet Kieu Fine Arts, now Vietnam University of Fine Arts), welcomed by students, teachers, and artists.
He has been passionate about exploring the life, culture and traditional art techniques of Vietnam, and as a photographer, he has a need to capture the everyday scenes of life here.
Thanks to teachers, students, friends and learning Vietnamese, he has been able to travel around Hanoi, as well as participate in field trips to rural areas and neighboring provinces, to take photos that are now collected in the book "Hanoi 1987".
