Mangrove Theatre presents the first European monographic exhibition of the work of Võ An Khánh (1936–2023, Vietnam), who is best known for his striking black and white photographs of the American-Vietnam War during the 1960s and early 1970s, and their testament to human resilience. Throughout the Vietnam War, which this year marks the 50th anniversary of the end of the War and the reunification of the country, Võ documented the hidden lives of communist guerrilla fighters and their communities living throughout the country’s mangrove forests, portraying the front line of the Vietnamese resistance against the US in the Ca Mau region. Between the years 1962 and 1975, Võ staged a photographic exhibition in the exceptionally challenging condition of mangrove forests and developed his negatives in the field, storing them in ammunition boxes with rice to absorb moisture.
Every frame captures an impossible moment. Children attend lessons in jungle classrooms designed to be quickly disassembled to maintain cover. Women in ascetic uniforms perform balletic leaps across flooded fields. Medics operate knee-deep in swamp water – a scene of wartime surrealism that Hollywood studios spend fortunes attempting to recreate. With limited exposures per film cartridge, every shot demanded precision. The result is a collection of images that possess the compositional rigour of cinema and the candor of photojournalism.
A member of the North Vietnam Communist Army who also managed the Photography Department of the local revolutionary cause, Võ was tasked with upholding the vision of collective socialist struggle, yet his images often dwell on unexpected moments of stillness as he documented events related to frontline music and dance events.
Mangrove Theatre focuses on sixteen scenes that reveal constant rehearsal – from children playing to fighters practicing their movements. Masks appear as a frequent motif, designed to protect identities in case of capture, adding to the sense of the forest as a site of surreal theatre.
For decades, Western photographers shaped how the world saw the Vietnam War through images of pain and bloodshed. While these photographs stirred emotions worldwide, they reduced Vietnam to a narrow stereotype: a nation of silent farmers and fighters to be either feared or pitied. Alongside Võ’s photographs, the exhibition presents images by international war photographers including Don McCullin, Tim Page, and Nick Ut, demonstrating the stark difference in visual language between outside observers and those who lived the reality. It is now 50 years since the fall or liberation of Saigon (1975), the event that marked the end of the war. This anniversary gives reason to rethink the stories told of Vietnam, better understanding the communities that experienced these events.
Mangrove Theatre is a collaboration between Dogma Collection and IC Visual Lab. Based in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, Dogma is a collection and exhibition space dedicated to preserving Vietnam’s cultural history while supporting the country’s contemporary art scene. https://dogmacollection.com/
Mangrove Theatre : The Wartime Photography of Võ An Khánh
24 June – 21 September 2025
IC Visual Lab
6 West St, Bristol BS2 0BH, United Kingdom
https://icvl.co.uk/
