An intimate portrait of Vietnam half a century after the war
- Text by Miss Rosen
- Photography by Tracy Dong
After the fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975, North Vietnam emerged victorious in a brutal war that decimated the country. After American armed forces fled in disgrace, members of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) in the South were incarcerated in detention camps for years on end, forced to perform heavy labor to help rebuild the shattered nation.
Among them was photographer Tracy Dong’s father, a former second lieutenant in the ARVN. After his release in 1978, he lived under heavy restrictions until he was able to escape Vietnam by boat in 1989 with his wife, Dong’s older sister, and 135 other refugees.
The family settled in Surrey, British Columbia, where Dong was born in 1995. Growing up, she heard little of their lives in Vietnam. The gaps in her family history created a sense of disconnection for she as she came of age.
“It was very difficult for my parents to talk about that with me as a young child. I knew my father was a soldier but he never really gave me the full story until I came back home in 2021,” Dong says. “I sat him down and said, “Dad, I want to hear the whole story in depth.’”
As her father courageously recounted the family’s harrowing escape from their homeland, Dong began to piece together a deeper understanding of the ways in which intergenerational trauma requires a collective approach to healing. Seeking kinship with her extended family, homeland, and ancestral roots, she returned to Vietnam in 2022 for the first time since she was 9 years old — this time with camera in hand, using it as a tool of connection to transcend the language barrier.
“Photography was a way for me to show my family members that I’m committed to get to know them on a deeper level. It was also a way to move forward from previous experiences and notions that I had of Vietnam,” she says.
With camera as her compass, Dong charts her journey in the new book, Tell Me About Saigon (Kris Graves Projects), a poignant story of self-discovery, community, and connection. Weaving together photographs of her family with landscapes, street scenes, beach trips, and work on the farm with handwritten journal entries made during her sojourn, Dong explores the existential nature of our deepest needs: identity, community, and belonging.
“The trip was the start of a rekindling, redemption, and reconnection. I met my cousin and to my surprise, they expressed love to me unconditional love to me, because they knew that we were from the same bloodline. That was an overwhelming feeling,” says Dong.
“It was always just the four of us, in Canada; to be surrounded by like 20, 30 people – I have never been around that much family in which we all express love to each other. It was a realisation that this is home and they’re accepting of me. This is a place that I can continue coming back to.”
Interview with photographer Tracy Dong in conjunction with the April 25th publication of “Tell Me About Saigon” (Kris Graves Projects).
Enjoyed this article? Follow Huck on Instagram.
Support stories like this by becoming a member of Club Huck.
You might like
“Magazines are cultural artefacts”: magCulture’s Jeremy Leslie on the enduring importance of print
We love magazines — Despite the ever creeping digitalisation of the world and culture, physical objects are taking on different, yet vital, roles in culture today. Ella Glossop chats to one of London’s biggest proponents of the art about why we need to support independent publications.
Written by: Ella Glossop
The anti-tourism guides revealing Lisbon’s true, radical heart
We Hate Tourism Tours — The Portuguese capital sees millions of people visit a year, against a backdrop of political turbulence and a housing crisis fuelled by short term holiday lets. Jack Burke meets the crew subverting their city’s perception, while bringing lesser seen stories and monuments to light.
Written by: Jack Burke
Defiance and pride in Chicano Camera Culture
A Photographic History — A new major exhibition surveys Mexican American photography over six decades, platforming Chicano artists at a Chicano museum for the first time.
Written by: Miss Rosen
The art of paying attention: How Austria’s Alps reward slowing down
Lebensgefühl — With a growing movement of art and music rooted in the area’s mountains, trees and waterfalls, the region is showcasing the importance of the human relationship to nature.
Written by: Sophie Lou Wilson
Grainy, yearning memories of Europe’s ’90s free rave heyday
Never Alone — A new photobook from Cheyenne Clementi and Valentina Morandi presents pictures they made over seven years while touring the continent as part of the Tekno Mobil Squad soundsystem crew. It archives parties, people and a lifestyle largely consigned to the past.
Written by: Isaac Muk
As Hanoi’s nightlife faces raids & repression, its underground scene modulates
Spaces Between the Beats — Tensions between nightlife and authorities have grown in recent times, as police target venues and their patrons with increasingly frequent drug testing and searches. With clubs becoming hostile spaces as a result, Hanoi’s electronic music community is finding new spaces and forms of expression, reports Martin Guttridge-Hewitt.
Written by: Martin Guttridge-Hewitt
