In Conversation With Chiron Duong

17 Apr

Written By Ellen Stone

On the Meditative and Emotional Power of Photography

April 17th, 2023

By Anna Prudhomme @annaprudhomme

Flamboyant colours, Asian folklore, and emotionality are what Chiron, a 27-year-old Vietnamese fashion photographer, one-of-a-kind images are made of. Taking inspiration from traditional Vietnamese culture, his practice is also a way the young photographer found to battle his mental health issues. In demand, he shot Maison Michel’s 2021 bridal collection, and participated in the Sino-French fashion photography exhibition, alongside taking part in the Milan-based PhotoVogue festival in 2022 and the French International Festival of Fashion, Photography, and Accessories, the same year.

Anna Prudhomme: Hi Chiron, you first studied architecture, but how did you get introduced to photography?

Chiron Duong: That's right, I studied landscape architecture at university. As I was stressed during my second year, I found in photography a way to have motivation and centre myself. So in 2017, I began as an amateur and by 2019 I had already started a professional path. The first real project I worked on was the fashion students at my university graduation collections. I then shot many other projects for the students there, and that’s when I began exploring bright colours and Asian cultural inspirations. Those elements impacted my style quite immediately and irreversibly, soon becoming a crucial part of my practice.

AP: It is more than true that colours have a very important place in your photographs, but how did you find the colour palette that is yours today?

CD: Architecture and photography have a lot in common…For both, it’s important to focus on the light, and the proportions but mostly the colours. And as I study landscape architecture, I discovered that every nation has a specific geography, and climate and thus different and unique colour palettes.

“Some colour combinations - those with white for instance - can express feelings of blooming and death at the same time.”

For instance, Vietnam has thrived, open-minded and hot colours. Also, dipping into the meaning of the colour, the contrast of black and white in Vietnam is not seen as sad but has a totally different deeper meaning. Some colour combinations - those with white for instance - can express feelings of blooming and death at the same time. Whereas combined with pink or red, a certain palette can provide rather soft and dreamy feelings. In my opinion, colours are tools to translate emotional expression and more so when combined with textures as in fashion photography.

AP: Vietnamese traditional fashion is also something central in your aesthetic, could you tell me more about it?

CD: One of the elements that impacted me most is the feeling of the soft, elegant, and simple Vietnamese traditional costume the Ao Dai: a long formal split tunic in silk with a high neck, worn over fluid trousers. Through all the changes in our society, the Ao Dai remains a beautiful symbol of our national traditions. It holds a rich history of pride and spirit of the Vietnamese people and that’s why I decided to create that project called the “Portraits of Ao Dai”: a collection of 365 images portraying all the different aspects of that beautiful outfit.

“When I’m shooting, there are always between 50 and 70% of surprising elements.”

AP: Your picture seems very thought through but how does your creative process truly work?

CD: When I’m shooting, there are always between 50 and 70% of surprising elements. The rest is the concept I’ve come up with to get the overall picture of each project. I work very closely with my models, I’ll suggest some movement for the model to tell the story I want to visually create. Starting from that the models are then freely posing, and that’s when I’ll begin recording all of the moves to get the material I need before going to photo editing.

I have two different ways of working in post-production. The first one is I’ll observe the shape of the movement I have recorded and combine all the different images to create the final one. The second way is I’ll just focus on the accessory moving and I’ll combine all the different movements of one element while keeping one single photo for the pose of the model.

AP: Could you talk me through the project La Main De SaiGon? On the Instagram bio of this project, you called it “Meditation photography” but what did you mean by that?

CD: This project originally started when I noticed the trees in my garden were withered, and I wanted to capture that exact moment before they died. I experimented a lot with those on the verge of death trees and discovered that capturing them went beyond my imagination and conception of what their initial form was.

“In French it means the “Hand of Saigon” but when said at loud, it sounds like “Made in Saigon”.”

I realised that focusing, creating, and listening to what photographs reveal, was a true meditative process. A process that requires focus from start to finish and a feeling of empathy for the subject being photographed. Then I also began shooting still life as dolls or flowers for instance. This project is what I call “meditation photography” because it really allowed me to have time with myself and indulge in my imagination. I get to do the steps by hand and enjoy the fun of arranging objects or creating characters. For me, it's my purest feeling!

The name is a pun I came up with. In French it means the “Hand of Saigon” but when said at loud, it sounds like “Made in Saigon” (he laughs).

AP: Your portfolio “Boundaries”, edited by La Comète, explores how photography became a tool for resisting mental health degradation, could you develop on that matter?

CD: So this project first started as a test because, in my opinion, there are too many things that affect our mental health. From the way we design the space we live in, to the size of that space, the environment in which we work, the impact of society such as economic or social pressures, etc.

Activities such as folding and cutting paper art —or truly everything that develops my imagination— are very relaxing for me in a way that it makes me appreciate and feel the little things that surround us and eventually also makes me see them differently.

This is a project I've been working on since the covid hit, to get rid of financial pressure and daily boredom, as well as learn about myself. I developed these little joys and I am very happy to still be able to be as creative as a child playing with a toy or discovering nature!

“I am very happy to still be able to be as creative as a child playing with a toy or discovering nature!”

AP: Your photographs also explore the loss of identity, meaning, and connection with nature, could you talk us through it?

CD: In my opinion, the lack of contact with nature and the work pressures, deprive us of the brilliance of our ability to connect with everyday little things that should make us happy. Many people cannot find themselves and are suffering the majority prejudices, making them even more confused and lost. So this project allows the viewer to enjoy the space of their imagination in the photos. Somewhere in my pictures, there are fairy tales, or beautiful journeys of characters I created from scratch. So I hope these stories I create using the tool that I have —my camera— will help viewers get a bit of time back to connect with their inner child.

AP: So, what do you think the future of your photography practice holds for you?

CD: I’ll focus on my personal photography projects such as La Main de Saigon which are the ones where I can purely express my feelings and emotions. That's also a sort of therapy for me, it helps a lot with my mental health. I’ll also continue my Ao Dai’s series and I just started working on a new project where I combined photography with Asian craftsmanship techniques such as paper cut, puppets or dolls !

AP: What is your ultimate life goal as a photographer?

CD: I wish to share my knowledge about the benefits and the wellness that photography can bring in someone’s life. For me photography is a pure art. It’s a way to express the purest emotions and feelings of an artist. I also deeply think that artistic practices could solve some problems in our societies, it could get people closer together and neutralize bad emotions that we all suffer from.

In the future, I hope to be able to deliver my project to a wider audience, share my practice with other artists and younger generations. Maybe I’ll organise workshops, to show other people how to express themselves through art— which is what I’ve been learning for years now—, because I think that today I’ve reached an age where I should share that knowledge with others!

About Chiron Duong

Chiron Duong (Dat Duong born in 1996) graduated from Ho Chi Minh City University of Architecture and is a fashion and fine-art photographer in Vietnam. His biggest inspiration is the culture of Vietnam and Asian cultures in general. “I’ve explored (these cultures) and learned a lot from my research: The Asian color palettes are not only extremely vivid and uplifting, but they are also liberating, delightful, and they have so many stories to tell.”

chironduong.com

@didudietho

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Ellen Stone