Khanh Phan

The Vietnamese Artist Makes

THE MUNDANE SUBLIME, DESPITE THE ODDS STACKED AGAINST HER

Words: Anna Solomon khanh-phan.pixels.com

In the UK, being a photographer isn’t considered particularly controversial. You buy a camera, take a few snaps and voila! You’re a photographer. In Vietnam, it’s a bit different – especially if you’re a woman. If you want to capture the night sky, you have the danger of going out after dark to contend with. Equipment is expensive, out of reach for most. Plus, despite leaps and bounds in recent years, Vietnam is still a patriarchal society; women, who must work as well as fulfil traditional domestic roles, rarely get to do the things they love. This was the case, at least, for Khanh Phan. She was rapidly falling out of love with life as a bank cashier and, after the breakdown of her marriage, decided to change course. While there was much working against her, Phan realised that she had something others don’t: the stunning natural and cultural scenery of her homeland.

And, boy, does she use it to her advantage. Phan’s images depict traditional professions of rural Vietnam – one shows women drying incense sticks, which are used in prayer (right); in another, they mend fishing nets (below). Phan platforms the workers who harvest grass and wash water lilies, all from an intriguing bird’s eye perspective. The colours are exceptionally vivid, the spirit of Vietnam positively oozing from each image. The shapes flow and merge until the scene becomes abstract, surreal. The photographer has not married again, she says, because she pursued photography. Instead, she has waited for sunrises in the churches of Thanh Xa and wrestled with waves at Hang Rai. Phan’s eye is remarkable, yes, but in order to do what she has done, something else is required: tenacity.