Internationally-acclaimed Vietnamese artist and photographer, Nguyen The Son, will present his current body of work depicting the rapid metamorphosis of the landscape of Viet Nam and how this drastic change is affecting the lifestyles of the Vietnamese people.

A work in Son’s Nha Tap The series, a collection of 60s, Soviet-styled apartment blocks.

The exhibition, City and Memory, is a collection of Son’s work that spans several years of research and acute observation. In 2008, he took a five-year leave of absence from his teaching duties at the Viet Nam Fine Arts University to procure his masters in photography at CAFA, Beijing.

There, Son developed a series of three dimensional photographs depicting the rapid development in Viet Nam that are not only innovative but also thought-provoking, challenging the viewer to examine this transformation and its effect on society.

For the first works in this series Son created images of the precious street frontage of the quintessentially narrow Vietnamese house known as a symbol of power and prosperity, the Nha Mat Pho (house facing the street). For this Nha Mat Pho photo relief series Son was awarded the talent prize at the prestigious Central Academy of Fine Arts Master’s Program in Beijing in May 2012.

He continued this work with his Nha Tay Transforms series of the French villas built over 100 years ago and their current transformation, following with his Nha Tap The series, a collection of 60s, Soviet-styled apartment blocks.

Hosted by Art Vietnam Gallery in collaboration with the newly established centre for architecture and art, Agohub, City and Memory will open from 6pm tomorrow and run until March 31. Agohub is at 12 Hoa Ma Street. — VNS