Saigon’s youngest graffiti crew speak about vandalism, jail time and their passion for art. Every weekend or so a group of teenagers can been seen gathering in front of a long stretch of washed out wall near an alley off Dang Van Bi street, adjacent to the Truong Tho milk factory. “You hoodlum punks. Go vandalize
Part acrobatics, part dance, part circus, AO is all entertainment It’s known as the machine and right now at least, it’s anything but well-oiled. In this particularly difficult sequence, dozens of bamboo baskets must make their way up to the top of a three-level platform, then zigzag down bamboo poles in a human-powered perpetual motion machine moving at
Art greater than the sum of its parts…. Sand art usually summons up images of intricate sand castles and sculptures created on wide open beaches that exist for only a short time before being washed away by the tide. However, Vietnamese sand art is anything but. This decade old art is created in tiny workshops around
A little corner of Paris in Hanoi. “Let’s meet outside the ‘big church’ near the lake,” I said. What a surprise I received when I arrived. On previous visits to Hanoi I had somehow managed to miss St. Joseph’s Cathedral. I must have been too busy being dragged around the ‘big’ tourist spots or losing my
They say it always rains in Hue… It was the end of the rainy season in Quang Nam, and a weekend break was needed after seemingly months of cold, damp weather. We were suffering from cabin fever and wondering how on earth it can feel like 10 degrees celsius when it was actually 20? Coming
Sketching the textures of Vietnam… “In the secular West, where nothing is sacred, everything seems hidden; yet in Asia, where nothing is hidden, everything is sacred.” ― Steve McCurry, photographer of the iconic “Afghan Girl” image. McCurry was speaking of India, “where millions have no home but the streets, virtually every life event is carried
The disappearing art of calligraphy…. Hai is a calligrapher. Here is how his days go: From 9am to 7pm, he sits in his usual spot on a small plastic chair at the corner of Dien Bien Phu and Truong Dinh in District 3 where he draws, writes and sells his creations to tourists, passers-by or
The soundtrack of our lives. On the day I took my first walk down the streets of central Saigon, I instinctively felt that this was the beating heart of Vietnam’s burning ambitions. Its sister, Hanoi, is more refined, elegant and mysterious. She sits in the shade on sultry days to preserve her beauty and, like
Folklore immortalized in broken pottery. There is a wonderful piece of mythological sculpture in a temple garden in Hoi An that I visit every time I go to the Old Town. It stands in the forecourt of the Quang Trieu Assembly Hall and is truly one of the finest examples of folk mosaic I have
How creative inspiration begins People often ask me where I get my inspiration from, how do I start a piece of work and why do I choose to draw or paint the things I do? I am always silenced by this question because the answer is so complex. It is similar to the question I am asked by people who stop
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