No Mud, No Lotus

"Huy Anh takes off his straw fedora hats by his left hand as he enter the grave yard in the suburb of Hanoi, his right arm still holding a bouquet of white chrysanthemums. He follows his parents through the knee-high grass path to look for his grandfather’s grave, a solider People’s Army of Vietnam serving during American War that referred to as the “Vietnam War” by Americans. They find the grave, dust off the headstone, cut the grass around, light incenses, place flowers and start bowing. They practice the traditional ritual that has been around for centuries. At a glance, Huy Anh has a vague feeling." The war has gone for 40 years in Vietnam, it is long enough that half of the young population don’t witness the horrific era. After the fall of Saigon, Vietnam came to an era of reconstructing and building a new country and the socialist model began to collapse. Today its economy is booming thanks to a change in political views that has opened up the country. Along with that, there are dramatically changes in term of culture and society that embrace Vietnamese people especially the youngsters. This project is a collection of photos simply depicts the country as it is, both happiness and sorrow.