Hanoi Through Time: A British Photographer's Journey Capturing Life Over 30 Years Ago

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Memories captured in photographs

On a golden autumn day in October, we arrived at a French colonial villa at 49 Tran Hung Dao Street, where the photo exhibition “Hanoi - A Time to Remember” by photographers Le Bich and Andy Soloman is being held. At the entrance, a large black-and-white photograph of two smiling children by Soloman immediately catches the eye.

The photograph “Two young children laughing” (1992), prominently displayed at the exhibition entrance, leaves a lasting impression on visitors.

“I first came to Hanoi on October 21, 1992. “Two young children laughing” was taken around that time. I captured the moment as they ran toward me. I still remember that their faces alight with joy, their laughter infectious,” reminisced Andy Soloman.

The image “Cyclo Drivers, Nguyen Quang Bich, Old Quarter” (1992) highlights Soloman’s impressions of the friendly, hospitable, and charming people of Hanoi.

Under each photograph, the photographer has shared the memories associated with the moment it was captured. For “Cyclo Drivers”, he wrote: “In Nguyen Quang Bich, a group of men sat at a small stall. They beckoned me over and we shared tea, smoked thuoc lao and drank rice alcohol before sharing lunch together. My new friends were cyclo drivers. A woman handed some roses to her young daughter who then walked over and gifted them to me. It was a beautiful moment”.

The photograph “Carpenter near Chuong Duong Bridge” (1992) shows a carpenter shaking Soloman Andy’s hand, inviting him for tea and a cigarette.

As Soloman explained: "At that time, tourists were scarce and foreigners were a novelty. I would be invited into homes for tea, or perhaps I would sit and drink bia hoi with a stranger”.

“As I wandered the streets, people would often call out “Lien Xo” (Soviet), missing me for Russian. I would smile and my reply of “No, I am English”, was always met with laughter and waves,” shared the photographer.

During his time in Vietnam, his camera was his passport into the lives of Hanoi’s people, their families, and their workplaces. Children, the elderly, school janitors, street vendors, and so many individuals became a rich source of inspiration for him.

A Lasting Love for Hanoi

Before coming to Hanoi, Andy Soloman worked as a photographer, journalist, and music manager in London. Originally planning to move to Hong Kong for work, a three-month trip to Vietnam changed his life. He chose to stay in Hanoi for seven years (1992-1999), working for various newspapers, magazines, and news agencies. He married a Vietnamese woman and raised two sons in the city.

Although Andy Soloman left Vietnam in 1999, he and his family have regularly returned to Hanoi.

“While the city has changed in many ways, its essence remains the same. The energy and humanity that captured me in 1992 is alive today, and Hanoi will forever hold a special place in my heart,” said he.

Since 2022, Soloman has embarked on a personal project to reconnect with people he photographed in Vietnam from 1992 to 1993. He expressed a heartfelt desire to meet those who had significantly impacted his life.

Sharing with VietnamTimes, Andy Soloman recounted how emotional it was to find six students from his photograph “Morning Assembly” (1992).

Through the exhibition, photographer Le Bich helped Andy Soloman reunite with students he had photographed in “Morning Assembly at Nguyen Du (Trung Vuong) Primary School, Ly Thai To” in 1992.

“In October 1992 I was passing Nguyen Du primary school in central Hanoi. I was invited in and took this photo of the children lined up for the morning assembly. Today at my exhibition I met six of the children in the photo and here they are, 32 years later. They were so happy, as was I, and they gifted me a Hanoi T-shirt to say thank you. Really wonderful and heartwarming stuff, ” shared Andy Soloman.

“Thank you to the photographers for capturing these moments, allowing us to understand a distant time in Hanoi’s history,” said Nguyen Phuong Linh and Nguyen Trung Dung, both 20-year-old residents of Hanoi who attended the exhibition.

“Thank you to the photographers for capturing these moments, allowing us to understand a distant time in Hanoi’s history,” said Nguyen Phuong Linh and Nguyen Trung Dung, both 20-year-old residents of Hanoi who attended the exhibition.

Through the exhibition, Andy Soloman hopes to tell stories of Hanoi’s transformation during the Doi Moi (Renewal) through the language of photography. He also hopes that the younger generation living in the capital will love Hanoi more and appreciate what they have today.

Photographer Andy Soloman enthusiastically shares the stories behind his photographs with exhibition visitors. The exhibition “Hanoi - A Time to Remember” features 86 black-and-white photographs. Alongside Andy Soloman’s works, which capture life and people in Hanoi during the 1990s, the exhibition also includes photographs by Le Bich, documenting Hanoi from 2000 onwards. The exhibition is open to the public, free of charge, at the Old Quarter Cultural Exchange Center, 49 Tran Hung Dao Street (46 Hang Bai Street), Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi, from October 10 to October 31, 2024.

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