Along with the development of technology and life, photography in Vietnam has witnessed an explosion in the number of creators and audiences. However, along with that rapid growth is a noteworthy reality: the artistic quality of many works is still limited, often falling into the rut of “beautiful” postcard-style photos, lacking originality and creativity.
Fortunately, everywhere and always, the limitation of the old will be the opportunity for the new to be born. Street photography seems to be exhausted in creativity when many works only stop at recording reality, lacking transformation and deep exploitation.
The exhibition brought a whole new perspective on street photography.
It is in this somewhat limited creative space that Nguyen Thanh Dung has emerged as a breath of fresh air. With a unique body of work, he has demonstrated his ability to transform reality, creating images that are not only beautiful but also rich in emotion, bringing a completely new perspective on street photography.
"Kaleidoscopic Vision" - a giant kaleidoscope that takes you into a magical visual space
Going beyond the physical representation of photographic works, "Kaleidoscopic Vision" offers a multidimensional visual experience, like a giant kaleidoscope that continuously transforms, reflects and recreates urban space into myriad forms. The works take viewers into a parallel universe, where familiar street corners are recreated through the lens of a strange world.
The photo series is a real-life collection of illusions, where familiar scenes are distorted into strange images.
It is a colorful visual space, the color patches overlap and blend, creating visual effects that are both familiar and magical, unusual. It is like looking through the eyes of an alien or an insect when first admiring the modern urban world with glass, metal, plastic and electric lights. Every subject in the photo series is not really clear or has any arrangement, but they are always blurry and are something that wriggles between definitions.
The works offer a magical visual experience.
Redefining Street Photography by Photographer Nguyen Thanh Dung
Using abstract visual language, combined with poetry in color and composition, the “Kaleidoscopic Vision” series brings a unique, new form to street photography. These are still street photography works, in the purest way, with images taken in public spaces, through the process of searching and capturing what is inherent without arrangement or calculation.
NAG Nguyen Thanh Dung.
Nguyen Thanh Dung shared about the process of making this exhibition: “Living between the two cities of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, I learned to be grateful for the magical colorful beauty of everyday life. When I discovered that colors carry extremely great emotional nuances to the visual experience, I let go of all reason and let the emotions and colors blend together through the camera frame.
I have been working on the 'Kaleidoscopic Vision' series for over a year, when I first started experimenting more with telephoto lenses in street photography. The idea for the series only really came from the first 1-2 images, when I found the abstract in the way of expression and I continued to follow that direction, gradually creating a larger series of photos following this perspective. This is a unique perspective that brings a fresher perspective to street photography as well as abstraction in photography.
This is a unique perspective that takes a fresh approach to street photography and abstraction in photography.
Through the exhibition 'Kaleidoscopic Vision', I want to convey to the audience a new perspective on Vietnamese streets. It can be hustle, depth or full of emotions created by colors. I hope that the exhibition will make viewers feel like they are lost in another world, a world with a subjective perspective and reflect part of Nguyen Thanh Dung's inner self. Thereby helping the audience see more clearly the beauty of the streets, of familiar corners in a very different way, and bring strong emotions when standing in front of a colorful visual feast."
The exhibition “Kaleidoscopic Vision” consisting of 20 works will welcome the public at Noirfoto, 131 Duong Van An, Thu Duc City from August 18, 2024 - September 1, 2024, except Sundays and Mondays.
