{"id":7233,"date":"2026-03-06T04:53:10","date_gmt":"2026-03-06T04:53:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/artnation.vn\/en\/?p=7233"},"modified":"2026-03-06T04:54:56","modified_gmt":"2026-03-06T04:54:56","slug":"the-light-of-dual-heritage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/artnation.vn\/en\/the-light-of-dual-heritage\/","title":{"rendered":"The light of dual heritage"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">I left Vietnam on an early flight just before Christmas, the year I had just turned twenty. In the early morning mist, the city lay in serene slumber, but my heart was throbbing. I didn&#8217;t know when, or if, I would return. Like many immigrants arriving in America, I carried a rich tapestry of memories from my homeland. Many years later, they would become a treasured asset that fueled my personal growth and shaped my identity as an artist in this new land. Throughout more than twenty years of teaching Photography, I have often encountered reflections of my initial self in each of my students, particularly those from immigrant backgrounds. <\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_7238\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-7238\" style=\"width: 2100px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-7238\" src=\"https:\/\/artnation.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/14.jpg\" alt=\"Tien Nguyen shows her classmates a portrait of Van Cao by Peter Steinhauer at the Photography Lab, Long Beach City College, 09.2025. Photo: Brian Doan.\" width=\"2100\" height=\"1500\" srcset=\"https:\/\/artnation.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/14.jpg 2100w, https:\/\/artnation.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/14-300x214.jpg 300w, https:\/\/artnation.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/14-1024x731.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/artnation.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/14-768x549.jpg 768w, https:\/\/artnation.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/14-1536x1097.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/artnation.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/14-2048x1463.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/artnation.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/14-1200x857.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2100px) 100vw, 2100px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-7238\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tien Nguyen shows her classmates a portrait of Van Cao by <span style=\"color: #00aae7\"><a style=\"color: #00aae7\" href=\"https:\/\/www.petersteinhauer.com\/\">Peter Steinhauer<\/a><\/span> at the Photography Lab, Long Beach City College, 09.2025. Photo: Brian Doan.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">To me, an image serves as a mirror, a window, and every photograph is a self-portrait, subtly concealing the photographer&#8217;s perspectives and personal history. It is also a useful medium for individuals to express, learn, and connect. This medium also fosters my connection with outstanding Vietnamese American photographers, among them Hanh Thi Pham and Han Nguyen. In the fields of art and education in the United States, their works are luminous diamonds radiating light from two sources: East and West.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_7237\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-7237\" style=\"width: 2400px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-7237 lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/artnation.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/16.png\" alt=\"Left: Brian Doan, \u201cReminiscence\u201d installation at Vilcek Foundation, New York, 2013. Photo: Jaqueline Buleje. Right: Brian Doan, \u201cTwo Mountains View\u201d (11.2024) at Long Beach Museum of Art in Downtown. Photo: Brian Doan.\" width=\"2400\" height=\"809\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/artnation.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/16.png 2400w, https:\/\/artnation.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/16-300x101.png 300w, https:\/\/artnation.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/16-1024x345.png 1024w, https:\/\/artnation.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/16-768x259.png 768w, https:\/\/artnation.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/16-1536x518.png 1536w, https:\/\/artnation.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/16-2048x690.png 2048w, https:\/\/artnation.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/16-1200x405.png 1200w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 2400px) 100vw, 2400px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 2400px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 2400\/809;\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-7237\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Left: Brian Doan, \u201cReminiscence\u201d installation at Vilcek Foundation, New York, 2013. Photo: Jaqueline Buleje. Right: Brian Doan, \u201cTwo Mountains View\u201d (11.2024) at Long Beach Museum of Art in Downtown. Photo: Brian Doan.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><b>HANH THI PHAM \u2013 THE BODY IN THE UPRISING<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">In her solo exhibition \u201cA Vietnamese: The body in revolt\u201d at the Fukuoka Art Museum in Japan in 1996, Hanh Thi Pham employed the term \u201cAmerikkka\u201d in her artist&#8217;s statement to refer to the US. Her candid and courageous personality had immediately captivated and compelled me to learn more about her. Hanh Thi Pham and her family left Saigon in the final days of the war, settled in Orange County, and studied photography at California State University, Fullerton. Her works encompass self-portraits, narratives, and performances, serving as a cry and a struggle for identity, rooted in the innocence of adolescence that was stripped away by brutality and war. Pham utilises her own image and body as the medium for creation to escape dependency and achieve absolute freedom.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_7234\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-7234\" style=\"width: 2043px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-7234 lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/artnation.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Hanh Thi Pham, \u201cSelf Portrait \/ Hairy \/ Pipe\u201d (1985), silver gelatin print, 100 x 75 cm. Photo: Brian Doan.\" width=\"2043\" height=\"2560\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 2043px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 2043\/2560;\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-7234\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Hanh Thi Pham, \u201cSelf Portrait \/ Hairy \/ Pipe\u201d (1985), silver gelatin print, 100 x 75 cm. Photo: Brian Doan.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The artist&#8217;s most well-known and emblematic work is <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cSelf-Portrait \/ Hair \/ Pipe\u201d, photographed in April 1984 when she was 30 and after nine years in the US. In this series of 4&#215;5 film portraits, she wears black and white ao dai, recreating her youthful days in Saigon. She notes that every detail was meticulously calculated, and the process of setting up and capturing each shot took a long time to complete. In the final portrait, Pham, wearing a white schoolgirl ao dai with her hair cascading down her back, holds a pipe in her hand, her eyes filled with confrontation. Using body language and symbols, intertwining personal history and art, Hanh Thi Pham poses the question, \u201cWho am I in 4,000 years of revolution?&#8221; With the smoking pipe in her hand, she also challenges the viewer\u2019s traditional notions of femininity and the enjoyment of pleasure reserved solely for men.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_7236\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-7236\" style=\"width: 2560px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-7236 lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/artnation.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/4-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Hanh Thi Pham, \u201cUntitled (Early Work)\u201d (1983). \u201cEthereal Equinox\u201d exhibition view at Icehouse Arts Complex, Long Beach, 2025. Photo: Brian Doan.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1881\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/artnation.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/4-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/artnation.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/4-300x220.jpg 300w, https:\/\/artnation.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/4-1024x752.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/artnation.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/4-768x564.jpg 768w, https:\/\/artnation.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/4-1536x1128.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/artnation.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/4-2048x1505.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/artnation.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/4-1200x882.jpg 1200w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 2560px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 2560\/1881;\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-7236\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Hanh Thi Pham, \u201cUntitled (Early Work)\u201d (1983). \u201cEthereal Equinox\u201d exhibition view at Icehouse Arts Complex, Long Beach, 2025. Photo: Brian Doan.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The work \u201cSelf-Portrait \/ Hair \/ Pipe\u201d is a bold manifesto representing Vietnamese American women, especially the lesbian and transgender communities. It embodies a deliberate and necessary rebellion in the process of self-reconstruction and gender affirmation. While Hanh Thi Pham&#8217;s work received recognition in the art world and is held in prestigious collections globally, she did not receive similar acknowledgment or support from her own community in Orange County. At the height of her career \u2013 being the first <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Vietnamese American artist to achieve fame in the US \u2013 in the late 1990s, she withdrew from the art world and chose a life of seclusion. In a conversation in 2010, the late artist <span style=\"color: #00aae7\"><a style=\"color: #00aae7\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Dinh_Q._L%C3%AA\">Dinh Q. Le<\/a><\/span> (1968<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u2013<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">2024) asked Pham if she continued to create after entering monastic life; she responded that once you are an artist, you will create for life. Currently, despite facing health challenges, she continues to write regularly. All of Hanh Thi Pham&#8217;s works and writings will soon be exhibited to the public at the <span style=\"color: #00aae7\"><a style=\"color: #00aae7\" href=\"https:\/\/www.si.edu\/\">Smithsonian Museum<\/a> <\/span>in Washington, DC.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>HAN NGUYEN \u2013 THE POETIC VOICE IN THE WORK<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Upon returning to California after a pleasant summer vacation in Vietnam, I visited the studio of photographer Han Nguyen in the coastal city of San Diego, approximately 100 miles south of Los Angeles County. He is a talented yet reserved photographer, one of the few artists in the world who adopts a camera-less technique to create his works. After settling in the US in 1975, Nguyen switched from Journalism to studying Art Photography at San Diego Community College. If Hanh Thi Pham&#8217;s work is a resonance, Han Nguyen&#8217;s creations resemble a tranquil lake that reflects the inner self.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_7239\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-7239\" style=\"width: 2560px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-7239 lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/artnation.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/6-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Han Nguyen, \u201cTracing Shadows\u201d (2023), unique photogram, 60 x 50 cm. Courtesy of the artist.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1652\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/artnation.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/6-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/artnation.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/6-300x194.jpg 300w, https:\/\/artnation.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/6-1024x661.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/artnation.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/6-768x496.jpg 768w, https:\/\/artnation.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/6-1536x991.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/artnation.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/6-2048x1322.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/artnation.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/6-1200x774.jpg 1200w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 2560px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 2560\/1652;\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-7239\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Han Nguyen, \u201cTracing Shadows\u201d (2023), unique photogram, 60 x 50 cm. Courtesy of the artist.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">In the series \u201cEclipse\u201d, he sits for hours like a Zen master, meticulously drawing small, multi-coloured squares on photographic paper, creating the sun from countless tiny particles. Nguyen often employs plants from his garden and his own body in his work. Coming from a family specialising in fashion, he skillfully applies traditional techniques learned from his family trade. He utilises dyes and fabric motifs to create visual effects in each photograph. \u201cGesture\u201d is a series depicting the male body, which was composed with an obscure camera known as the ancestor of modern cameras. His works are tranquil, like a Zen poem: elegant and hauntingly beautiful, reminiscent of Hue <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u2013 <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">the city where he was born.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_7240\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-7240\" style=\"width: 2398px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-7240 lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/artnation.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/17.png\" alt=\"Left: Han Nguyen, \u201cUntitled\u201d (2002), pigment on photo paper, 60 x 50 cm. Courtesy of the artist. Right: Han Nguyen, \u201cReflection\u201d (2023) from the \u201cTracing Shadows\u201d series, 60 x 50 cm. Courtesy of the artist.\" width=\"2398\" height=\"1476\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/artnation.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/17.png 2398w, https:\/\/artnation.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/17-300x185.png 300w, https:\/\/artnation.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/17-1024x630.png 1024w, https:\/\/artnation.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/17-768x473.png 768w, https:\/\/artnation.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/17-1536x945.png 1536w, https:\/\/artnation.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/17-2048x1261.png 2048w, https:\/\/artnation.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/17-1200x739.png 1200w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 2398px) 100vw, 2398px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 2398px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 2398\/1476;\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-7240\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Left: Han Nguyen, \u201cUntitled\u201d (2002), pigment on photo paper, 60 x 50 cm. Right: Han Nguyen, \u201cReflection\u201d (2023) from the \u201cTracing Shadows\u201d series, 60 x 50 cm. Courtesy of the artist.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><b>\u00a0IN CONCLUSION \u2013 PHOTOGRAPHY AS BEAUTIFUL AS A MELANCHOLIC VERSE<\/b><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">So here I stand, in the hush of dusk<\/span><\/i><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/i><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">My heart aches with nostalgia for my homeland.<br \/>\n<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">(Vietnamese verse)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Much like my youthful self bringing memories aboard a plane, artists Hanh Thi Pham and Han Nguyen have employed photography to reconstruct their inner worlds following the war and migration. They serve as reflections not only of my own self but also of countless immigrant students I have taught. Their works transcend mere personal declarations or artistic rebellion; they offer the most valuable lesson: Photography is an authentic mirror that allows individuals to see themselves, connect with fragments of history, and ultimately, create their own unique nuances from diverse origins. Hanh Thi Pham employs rebellion to assert feminism and identity, while Han Nguyen uses tranquility to depict the cosmos. Whether through the explosion of resistance or the stillness of Eastern meditation, both artists have harnessed their art to transform memories into a precious resource. They have proven that the light shining from Eastern and Western roots does not cancel itself out but instead intertwines to create multifaceted, brilliant, and enduring artistic diamonds within the heart of American culture.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_7235\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-7235\" style=\"width: 1952px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-7235 lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/artnation.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/3-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Hanh Thi Pham, \u201cImmigrant Poet in Fire\u201d (1989), chromogenic Print, 100 x 75 cm. Photo courtesy of Brian Doan.\" width=\"1952\" height=\"2560\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/artnation.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/3-scaled.jpg 1952w, https:\/\/artnation.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/3-229x300.jpg 229w, https:\/\/artnation.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/3-781x1024.jpg 781w, https:\/\/artnation.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/3-768x1007.jpg 768w, https:\/\/artnation.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/3-1171x1536.jpg 1171w, https:\/\/artnation.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/3-1562x2048.jpg 1562w, https:\/\/artnation.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/3-1200x1574.jpg 1200w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1952px) 100vw, 1952px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 1952px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 1952\/2560;\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-7235\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Hanh Thi Pham, \u201cImmigrant Poet in Fire\u201d (1989), chromogenic Print, 100 x 75 cm. Photo courtesy of Brian Doan.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p style=\"text-align: right\"><strong>Words: Brian Doan.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Artist Brian Doan reflects on the practices of two Vietnamese American photographers who have been shaping their identities at the confluence of East and West.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":7234,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[106,104,105],"class_list":["post-7233","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-art-natomy","tag-brian-doan","tag-photography","tag-vietnamese-artists"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v21.4 (Yoast SEO v26.7) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>The light of dual heritage - Art Nation<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"[Art]natomy - 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