Social Affairs
Vietnamese temples and pagodas from French photographer's eyes
As Nicolas Cornet, a French photographer, journalist and publisher, is holding his exhibition on Vietnamese pagodas and temples in French Institute L’Espace in Hanoi. We have had an opportunity to sit down with him and talked about his special passion for Vietnam’s national identity.
French photographer, journalist and publisher Nicolas Cornet. Source: Ngoc Thuy.
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I have been working in Vietnam for more than 30 years, so I was thinking I would like to make my next photo book about Vietnam. I find that pagodas are very nice heritage and wanted to make a collection about Vietnamese pagoda, so that the next generation can have some memories of this heritage. That was the first idea for my photo book on the pagodas and temples in Vietnam.
Yen Tu - Quang Ninh province. Source: Nicolas Cornet.
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First, I discovered many new pagodas that I didn’t know before. For me, inside the pagoda is mysterious and also very peaceful place. I was very lucky to visit all those very nice temples, and also was for me like a chance to spend so much time in nice places and to meet very nice people. It was the way I worked but at the same time I was able to enjoy these very nice travels through northern, central, and southern pagodas.
Dau pagoda - Bac Ninh province. Source: Nicolas Cornet.
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Of course, I am happy to do this exhibition in Hanoi. It has already been shown in Ho Chi Minh City, and it is also an opportunity for visitors to discover other pagodas from other provinces. It also pushes the visitors even from the North to visit some old pagodas, and to remind them that these very nice temples are very close from them, they just have go one or two hours’ drive.
So I think it is a good idea to push people to discover the heritage that they don’t know yet. And I also focus on some very artistic details like the wood carving. Moreover, some people don’t know that in small pagodas we can find those very “nice treasure”. I really wanted to bring those beauty to the Vietnamese public.
Buddhists. Source: Nicolas Cornet.
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Yes, this is a part of my exhibition and also a big part of my works. Usually, I am nearly specialized to follow the daily life of the people and to go very close and to share some time with the people. Of course I like this even more than the architecture but in the book we need to balance. So I spent much time to capture the architecture and to show the nice details about arts. I am also very interested in the Vietnamese ritual, and the way Vietnamese people worship in pagodas.
Tra Vinh province. Source: Nicolas Cornet.
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We intend to show this exhibition in Yen Tu, but I have to discuss first with local authority. Another place I would like to display my works is Hue.
What is your message through this exhibition?
My message is to push the people to be curious and to discover new pagodas. I want to tell the people to protect pagodas, because some pagodas are renovated in the way that is not always proper. Because this heritage is part of national identity. Maybe I would like to raise awareness of protecting pagodas because this is important for next generations.
Can you share with us some information about your next projects in Vietnam?
I have 2 projects in the future. One project about the Vietnamese culture of cooking and another project is to set up some photo festivals and also photo workshop for young photographers. In 2013-2014, I did some workshops in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi with some famous photographers like Maika Elan, Binh Dang, and Hai Thanh. I would like to work on similar projects again for next year.
Thank you very much!
Nicolas Cornet has been sharing his time between Europe and Asia for over thirty years. He has frequently contributed to major European newspapers and magazines: L’Espresso, Mare, Le Monde, D-La Repubblica, Siette Leguas/ El Mundo, Figaro Magazine, Nouvel Observateur, Geo, and regularly collaborates with film crew and TV documentaries.
His artworks have been exhibited in many countries, including France, Germany, Switzerland, Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam.
