Chiron Duong (Dat Duong born in 1996) graduated from Ho Chi Minh City University of Architecture and is a fashion and fine-art photographer in Vietnam. His biggest inspiration is the culture of Vietnam and Asian cultures in general. “I’ve explored (these cultures) and learned a lot from my research: The Asian color palettes are not only extremely vivid and uplifting, but they are also liberating, delightful, and they have so many stories to tell.”

“I strive to convey the mysterious sentiments of Asian life with its folklore and traditional beliefs. My instrument is photography: I strive to offer my audience pictures whose colors, materials, emotions, and technique manifest the interference of Eastern, especially Vietnamese and Western culture.” 

“My works also evoke the contrast between the child’s soaring and optimistic mind and the empty soul of the grown-up in modern society.”

1. Your work is deeply inspired by the culture of Vietnam and Asian traditions. Could you elaborate on how these influences shape your photography and artistic expression?

Hello! The natural and man-made landscapes that surround us have a great influence on the way we live. There is a big difference between the color systems from natural landscapes in Vietnam and Western countries. So I simply feel and express it in my works. And I think it is the context that artists are fed into from birth and growing up

2. You aim to convey the mysterious sentiments of Asian life through your photography. Can you describe a particular project or photograph where this goal was most vividly achieved?

I think it’s a combination of many elements, not just color and movement. Sometimes it reaches a state of escape from real life and takes on a spiritual experience. I often imagine the flexibility of water flows, but they also contain the power that can erode rocks. Water contains many philosophies and is close to Eastern philosophy.

This photo from the “Keep my heart” project where I intertwine the character’s conscious and unconscious world with my conscious and unconscious world during the execution of the movements

3. How do you integrate the rich color palettes and traditional beliefs of Asian cultures into your work? Are there specific elements or symbols you find particularly significant?

I graduated in landscape architecture, so this is also a big part of observing and perceiving color. I learned a lot about plants and ecosystems and designed from there. And that’s why I capture the diversity of colors and perceive the connection between the colors of the landscape and the culture of the place. However, besides color, there are many factors to create a feeling. It can be material, surface, shape, density, etc. What I can say about myself is that I can spend a lot of time walking with friends and talking about plants, or the surrounding scenery me. Leads to a connection with color and life around.

Wind, flowers, and flying strings are symbols that I like.

4. Your work often contrasts the child’s optimistic mind with the complexities of modern adult life. How do you approach this theme in your photography, and what techniques do you use to express this contrast?

I still keep a certain mischievousness or resistance flickering in my works. More specifically, curiosity about the world. I think movement or evoking ideas about movement is the way I feel the moments of escaping reality and finding within each person or resonating with the environment. 

This photo is from the Keep My Heart project. I posed a list of questions to the characters and directed the questions toward topics they had forgotten about: If you could make one movement, what movement would you make to express “livingness”?  Is there any folk game you want to play again? Is there an imaginary animal that can eat you? If it were a UFO, what would you cover the earth with?… there are no judgments here, and I mixed the answers to create photography concepts. This process is the answer to the question you asked.

5. Do you use Photoshop or other digital tools to enhance or manipulate your photos, especially those involving motion? If so, how do these tools contribute to your artistic vision?

My works include both photoshopped and non-photoshopped photos. Technique helps convey emotions.
I also used Photoshop to combine a series of movements. In pre-production, I shot at slow speeds to show the movements. Then I look at the photos and select the details I like the most, and link the movements together. “I sculpt with images”

6. Can you walk us through a typical day in your studio or during a photoshoot? What does your creative process look like from start to finish?

I spend most of my time reading, learning about localities, and experimenting with new genres. Since I come from a landscape architect background, I don’t think I should limit myself to any style or genre. For architects, when there is a plot of land or a topic, they will research and design it to suit the plot of land and its context. The Architect’s personal elements will then be incorporated and harmonize the design. Currently I still don’t have a studio.

I often start ideas from observing life around me. For example, in the latest project: “ Keep My Heart”, it started from a strange coincidence, when I was wearing a red shirt and I was completely surrounded by black and gray colors. This brings me to the question: is there a metaphor between a person’s inner and outer world? And can a person die while they are still alive? From there I will find a way to carry out the project

I am interested in Environment, landscape, sociology and culture especially existentialism. 

Thank you so much!