PORTRAITS OF “ÁO DÀI” – HOPE FOR PEACE AND LOVE
Share the design process, ideas, and inspiration about photobook projects
by Graphic Designer- Visual Artist Huynh Minh Thong (Todd Huynh) and Chiron Duong
The idea for Photobook Design by Huynh Minh Thong (Todd Huynh) a talented graphic designer, visual artist, and founder of THOC – an organization specializing in contemporary art and a prominent community in Vietnam
Huynh Minh Thong (Todd Huynh): “Chiron Dương’s presentation of Áo Dài was a daring but intimate perspective that inspired my design ideas for the book “Portraits Of Áo Dài – Hope For Peace And Love.” I scrutinized each work, internalizing a sense of hope, peace, and love. Looking at the works, I can feel the serenity and outpouring of emotions in concert. I wish for the Photobook to bring out the strong contrasts between calming and rushing, brilliance and fading, growing and withering, and most of all, filled with hope.
To achieve this, I created flows, surging and soothing, that evoke calligraphic lines in a restrained way. Though the layout and arrangement of letters may make reading challenging, it is a new experiment of tradition and modernity that aims to give you more time to reflect on, discover, and feel the works and introduce contemporary Vietnamese art. “
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Artist- Visual designer Huynh Minh Thong (Todd Huynh) talks about the process of designing the photobook
Opening Statement By Chiron Duong
One rainy afternoon, I stopped by my favorite local neighborhood restaurant that serves southern Vietnamese food. I ordered my favorite Vietnamese sour fish soup. I treated myself to the steaming hot piece of fish, dipping it in aromatic chili fish sauce, and something suddenly dawned on me. I realized I can never live without this Vietnamese soup, just like how I cannot stop reminiscing about everything offered to me by my Vietnamese identity. For this, it seemed to me I was a little different from my peers. In my early years of photography, I struggled because I thought I was too young to be immersed in traditional culture.
When I was awarded in France for my photography, international journalists asked me something which has haunted me ever since: “Does Vietnamese traditional culture influence your style?”. This question led me to a special project, an opportunity to look into who I am, a journey of appreciating my origin and showing my gratitude to it by bridging the gap between tradition and the modern world. It is Portraits of Áo Dài, a 365-day photography project with the Vietnamese traditional dress, Áo Dài, as its spirit.
Through this series, I wish to tell different stories of Áo Dài: Áo Dài in childhood memories; Áo Dài in Vietnamese arts and poetry; Áo Dài in the love for Vietnam our motherland; Áo Dài in traditional, unique Vietnamese practices; Áo Dài in wartime as the hope for peace; and many more. All these themes are as vivid as ever when Vietnamese women garment themselves with Áo Dài.
My photography style is associated with opposite emotions: softness and strength; optimism and melancholy; glory and withering. Now that I reflect on my journey, Áo Dài has always influenced my photography style, even when I am unconscious of it. Áo Dài, as both an adjective and a noun, represents the dichotomy between what is simple but at the same time strong and seductive Vietnamese women. When I saw my grandmother and mother wearing Áo Dài on important occasions, I was touched. Getting ready, they would stand in front of the mirror, brushing their hair. All my childhood memories flashed through my mind. These women have been through many ups and downs in life which expose their beauty, strength, and bravery. They admire them tremendously.
It is rightly said that Áo Dài is the national dress of Vietnam. Áo Dài contains a long history, traditional culture, and Vietnamese aesthetics, so it is the proud identifying element of Vietnam before the world. However, Áo Dài also suffers from cultural appropriation as some foreign designers wrongly claim the design as their own. In the past few decades, with the development of the Vietnamese fashion industry, many Vietnamese designers have attempted to revamp Áo Dài, only to create some sort of fashion disaster. Áo Dài walks in its history of transforming to be in sync with each particular era, ensuring its applicability and maintaining what is essential: its softness, its grace, its elegance, all of which radiate the delicate bearing of its owner. Therefore, these essentialities should be the framework for any creative touch on Áo Dài, the respectable symbol of Vietnam.
Vietnamese women wear Áo Dài on many occasions like weddings, traditional holidays, and events. Sometimes, without any special occasions, they simply feel like wearing them. Therefore in one way or another, they all have fond memories of Áo Dài. Because I wanted this project to be an experience both objective and subjective, I invited my friends (including my grandmother and mother) to appear in this project. They are not fashion models and do not belong to the usual beauty standard for Asian models (influenced by the Chinese and Korean criteria). Among them, some have never stood in front of the camera lens. Despite that, they all show the gentle, benevolent, elegant beauty reflected on the faces and personalities of Vietnamese people.
In this project, with each concept, I want to tell a little story. I ask my models to feel the characters, to portray them in their way so I could capture their most genuine expressions. Every time I look at these works, it amazes me how the models could tell my story with their very own voices.
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With Áo Dài, I also use a lot of flowers with diverse colors and textures in each photo, aiming to recall this dream-like picture of blooming and withering. Perhaps golden daisies appear most often because they are so familiar with Vietnamese religious culture. Other types of flowers are there as metaphors for how in some periods of Vietnam’s history, women were judged, and control of their life was taken away from them. On the other hand, flowers could convey hope, joy, and happiness.
Finally, through this project, I wish to bring awareness to a prejudice I and many generations of Vietnamese artists want to eliminate: that Vietnam is all about wars. No, wars have ended. And yet, many still think of Vietnam as a miserable country injured by wars and hindered by their shadows. Previous generations of artists who lived through times of war have left behind unique works of art reflecting the traits of their time, but I am the young generation born in a period of peace in the country. I see how Vietnam develops every day in so many different ways, so I need to create to let the world know how beautiful my country is. Therefore, my project, PORTRAITS OF ÁO DÀI: Hope for Peace and Love, is my message and my pride as a child of Vietnam. I see the sacred significance of peace and would love to spread it to the world.
Photobook Portraits Of Áo Dài- Hope For Peace And Love
Title: Portraits Of “Áo Dài” – Hope For Peace And Love
Full Showcase and details Photobook on Behance
Teaser Photobook: Portraits Of “Áo Dài”- Hope For Peace And Love
Descriptions Self-published
Year of Production: 2023 Country: Vietnam
Author: Chiron Duong (Dat Duong)
Designer: Todd Huynh (Huynh Minh Thong)
Translator: Hoang Nguyen Minh Anh
1st Special Edition: 300 prints ( and 10 Artist Proof)
Signature: Includes Chiron Duong’s signature
Size 20x28cm (Vertical format) 288 pages of 115gsm Klasica paper Hardcover covered with Curious Matter Red 135gsm paper.
Shipping Worldwide
