Vietnamese pagodas through lens of French photographer
Artworks from a photo book on pagodas in Vietnam by French photographer and journalist Nicolas Cornet will be exhibited at L’Espace in downtown Hanoi from November 9 to December 31.
Artworks from the photo book “Vietnam Pagodas” by French photographer Nicolas Cornet will be exhibited at L’Espace in Hanoi from November 9 to December 31. (Photo: Hanoi Grapevine)
Hanoi (VNA) – Artworks from a photo book on pagodas inVietnam by French photographer and journalist Nicolas Cornet will be exhibitedat L’Espace in downtown Hanoi from November 9 to December 31.
Through the exhibition “Vietnam Pagodas,” Cornet wants to show thebeauty of Vietnamese culture and to help culture lovers be aware that pagodasare part of the country’s cultural heritages.
He expects the awareness will help make use of technology andinternational expertise in preserving these heritages.
The photographer released the photo book of the same title in Ho ChiMinh City in June.
The 250-page book “Vietnam Pagodas” in English and French includeshundreds of photos of 31 pagodas and temples taken over the last three years.
Cornet began his journeyfrom northern to southern Vietnam in 2014 to discover the country’s majorpagodas, temples and places of worship.
He took more than 20,000pictures, and visited nearly 100 pagodas and temples.
“I decided to make thebook to show the beautiful heritage of Vietnam’s pagodas, and to allow the nextgeneration to remember this heritage. I wanted my children, whose mother wasVietnamese, as well as my Vietnamese friends’ children, to be able to havememories about that,” said Cornet.
Published by the VietnamNews Agency (VNA) Publishing House, the book consists of five chapters,featuring traditional pagoda architecture, artistic details, daily life ofmonks and people gathering for worship and ceremonies.
The first and secondchapters are about the beginning of Buddhism in Vietnam and its old pagodas andtemples in the north. The third chapter focuses on Hue and the central region.Hue is considered a Buddhism centre in Vietnam.
The fourth chapterintroduces pagodas and Chinese temples in HCM City, and the last chapterhighlights Khmer pagodas in the Mekong Delta.
Cornet has been dividinghis time between Europe and Asia for more than 30 years. He has collaboratedwith major European newspapers and magazines such as L’Espresso, Mare and LeMonde, and film crews and TV documentaries.
Cornet has published sixphoto books on Vietnam and South East Asia and plans to release a new book onVietnamese cuisine next year.
As an art director andcurator, Cornet has held photo exhibitions and events in France, Germany,Switzerland, Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam.–VNA
VNA
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Artworks from the photo book “Vietnam Pagodas” by French photographer Nicolas Cornet will be exhibited at L’Espace in Hanoi from November 9 to December 31. (Photo: Hanoi Grapevine)