Huy Anh takes off his straw fedora as he enter the graveyard near Hanoi, his other arm still holds a bouquet of white chrysanthemums. He follows his parents through the knee-high grass path to find his late grandfather’s grave, a soldier of People’s Army of Vietnam serving during ‘American War’ that is referred to as the ‘Vietnam War’ by Americans. They find the grave, dust off the headstone, cut the grass, light incenses, place flowers and start bowing. They practice the ritual that has been around for centuries. At a glance, Huy Anh feels vague.
The war has been gone for 40 years in Vietnam, long enough that more than half of the population didn’t have to witness the horrific era.
After the fall of Saigon, Vietnam came to an era of reconstructing and building a new country as the socialist model began to collapse. Today its economy is booming thanks to a shift in political views that has opened up the country, along with that, there are dramatic changes in terms of culture and society that embrace Vietnamese especially the youngsters.
This project is a collection of photos simply depicting the country as it is, both happiness and sorrow.
