"Vuong kept the practice close by, quietly making thousands of photographs during his ascent to becoming one of the literary world's most recognisable voices. A collection of these is now going on show at CPW in the Hudson Valley, encouraged by the likes of Goldin and Raymond Meeks. It marks the first time his photographs are being exhibited, yet they feel familiar. Symbology bleeds between images and the words many know so well: the close quarters of the nail salon, the vantage over Connecticut's vast sprawl, the long shadow of the American war machine made manifest in helmets, bandages and patriotic paraphernalia."
"The photographs are also an intimate study of grief. Many were made with his younger brother following the loss of their mother, a woman central to his storytelling. To English speakers, the exhibition's name, Sống, conjures musicality (an incidental emblem of Vuong's dexterity across media) but the word's actual Vietnamese meaning, "to live", offers the more pertinent reading as the brothers navigate what life means after experiencing death."
An exhibition at CPW in the Hudson Valley presents thousands of intimate photographs made over years, influenced by Diane Arbus, Nan Goldin and Alec Soth. The images document domestic and public spaces such as nail salons and Connecticut sprawl while repeating motifs tied to the American war machine, including helmets, bandages and patriotic paraphernalia. Many photographs were made with the photographer's younger brother after the death of their mother, producing an intimate study of mourning and survival. The exhibition title, Sống, means "to live" in Vietnamese and frames the works as an exploration of life, memory and photographic candor.
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