A native of the countryside, the artist, who has chosen to live in the city, in no way intends to deny his origins, like many of his contemporaries, whom he views with a critical eye. He has decided, in a complex installation bringing together photography, texts, video, objects, and rice, to give an account of the world of his origins and of his preoccupations. By regularly photographing a parasol planted in a rice field, which slowly deteriorates overtime, and by keeping a “diary” of this evolution, he speaks of the weather and the peasant’s perception that the harvest depends upon all the elements. Then, in a series of symbolically staged photographs, he evokes the relation to the soil: earth-mother, nourishing earth, but also mud, a soiling element. This is accomplished with a perfect mastery of subtle colors and a fine direction of actors.
Born in 1976 in Binh Dinh, Vietnam. He lives and works in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Since 2001, Panh Quang has done photography in several areas, such as advertising, fashion, sports, photojournalism, and documentary. He joined the newspaper Saigon Tiepthi in 2003. His photos have been published in numerous newspapers. In 2009, he participated in the festival PhotoFest in Long Beach, California, and in several seminars on photography, including the Museum of Modern Art (New York City) and the International Center for Photography (New York City).
