In this composite, I'm trying recapture my memory of learning to bike in Vietnam. I've only visited Vietnam about 4 times in my life so having a pivotal core memory of learning to ride a bike creates a sentimental bridge between the two things. In a way, it also connects me with my family since most of them are from or living in Vietnam.
For the photo, I used a street photo of Hanoi with a clear view of the Vietnamese flag and then I added the biker and tricycle to emphasize maturity and difference in level of biking. The modern aspect of the motorcycle brings us to the present while contrasting with the older elements of a wet plate collodion. For the frame, I utilized the edges from multiple pictures from the Library of Congress.
https://www.pexels.com/photo/street-vendor-in-hanoi-alley-with-vietnamese-flags-34124512/
https://www.pexels.com/photo/grayscale-photo-of-a-person-riding-a-bicycle-10569410/
https://www.pexels.com/photo/photo-of-a-red-childrens-bike-by-a-road-5012902/
https://www.loc.gov/item/2018670507/
https://www.loc.gov/item/2018666343/
https://www.pexels.com/photo/close-up-photo-of-grey-illustration-3377414/
https://www.pexels.com/photo/photo-of-gray-surface-3377405/
The work I feel is the strongest is by Jimmy Truong. This work captures a childhood memory of learning to bike in Vietnam. The element of memory and nostalgia goes hand in hand with the collodion format by creating an old photo from a memory. But where the composition of this works so well with the concept is in the haziness and blur. The photo feels like it is fading and it has this glow that feels like a hazy memory. The border and vignette adds further to the feeling of a memory fading and just not feeling fully realized.
ReplyDeleteThe image that I believe has the strongest concept by Jimmy Truong. The work features a street; the flag waving above indicates that the location is in Vietnam. In the foreground, we see a tricycle parked near an entrance to the building beside it. The entrance is decorated with potted plants and banners. In the background, a man on his bicycle rides away from us, showing his back. He is blurred due to his position and the fact that he is moving on his bike. The tone of the photo is a light sepia and is textured by distressed edges and scratches. The concept for the piece is to simulate Jimmy’s memory of learning how to ride a bike in Vietnam. The bikes represent the difference in ages and the idea of taking off the training wheels and growing up. I found this metaphor to be very clever in portraying the concept of maturity. Doing some research into Vietnam's photography history, I learned that the first wet-plate photograph was a portrait of Phan Thanh Giản, taken in Paris with the ambrotype process, when he led a delegation to France in 1863, hoping to regain the three Vietnamese provinces previously ceded to that country. Thinking about when the technique was introduced to the country, it makes the image appear more realistic, since a similar photograph could have been taken with a wet-plate.
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