40 years after the end of the Vietnam War, Vietnam is a country in upheaval. The scars of war are still there. The economic renewal since 1986 and the flourishing tourism are associated with an increase in the standard of living, especially in the cities. Fundamental human rights such as freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, freedom of art and freedom of speech are still severely restricted. Outside of the state youth organizations and those organized by the Communist Party, however, there seems to be an interest among young people in self-organized leisure activities – perhaps signs of a youthful feeling of freedom and the emergence of subcultures.
The series VIETNAM by Jürgen Bürgin shows a Vietnam in the field of tension between tradition and modernity, between history and the present. The pictures are portraits of people the photographer met in Vietnam – and they are street photographs from Hanoi, Hue, Hoi An or Saigon. They show people in Vietnam in their everyday life, in their free time, at work, when shopping, with friends, etc. They tell of chance encounters where life largely takes place – on the streets, in squares, in parks, in markets – in public.
