VietNamNet Bridge – Exhibition “Hanoi – Spirit of Place” of British diplomat John Ramsden introduces 117 authentic, lively photographs about Hanoi in the 1980s.
Briton depicts Ha Noi through the ages
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Queuing to buy fruits and vegetables without coupons at a cooperative store.
John Ramsden is a diplomat but he has a passion for photography. From 1980 to 1983, he was sent to Hanoi as part of the British Diplomatic Service’s mission. Within three years, he traveled around Hanoi and the surrounding areas to explore the life here.
In the early 1980s, Vietnam was at the beginning of a difficult period following the war end. Amidst the post-war living environment, however, one could feel a sense of hope and a relentless fighting spirit of the Vietnamese people.
Ramsden went for long walks around the city of Hanoi, bicycled out to the surrounding villages and made trips during the weekends, always bringing along his camera. More than 1,800 photographs of Hanoi had been taken as a result between 1980 and 1983.
In 2010 he had a small exhibition of his photographs at the Museum of East Asian Arts in Bath, to coincide with the 1000 year anniversary of the foundation of Hanoi.
A long row of waiting water barrels, showing the period of water and fuel shortage in Hanoi.
In early May 2013, a larger exhibition was held in London entitled “Hanoi: Spirit of Place”.
The “Hanoi – Spirit of Place” only exhibits 117 photos of Ramsden. Historian Duong Trung Quoc thoroughly annotated details on each photo, thus, the exhibition evokes beloved memories of Hanoi in the subsidy period. Perhaps when taking these photos, the diplomat did not think that one day, they will become precious materials. If the old postcards taken from the French colonial period show Hanoi in the early stage of modern life, the photos by John Ramsden are the evidence of a country just out of war.
The streets in Ramsden’s photos were small, but still open because the means of transport at that time were mainly rudimentary vehicles and there were few traders on the sidewalk. Ramsden took many pictures of the elderly earning their living on the street since at that time young men were in the battlefield or at construction sites.
Ramsden’s photographs have historical values of a major development phase of Hanoi. In a photograph of Ta Hien Street, a food store with a signboard that read “Specialty” without introducing the food or the restaurant brand. Why? In the subsidy period, Hanoians were afraid of advertising their brand or products since they did not want to be list as big traders. In a photo is a long line of pails of water, recalling memories of the time of water shortage. Or the pictures of coal stoves and water barrels at “the service groups” that sold boiling water, showing the shortage of water and fuel in Hanoi at that time.
Bicycle – a fortune of Hanoi’s families at that time.
Besides the photos of the hard life at that time, there are many photos of the beauty of Hanoi. Ramsden also displays in the exhibition a portrait of famous painter Bui Xuan Phai.
Returning to Hanoi after 30 years to make this exhibition, Ramsden said he was very touched and surprised. “Hanoi has changed amazingly. That change is a great experience for me. The city today is still attractive to me, and certainly there are many angles for my photos,” said Ramsden.
The exhibition is held at 29 Hang Bai Exhibition House until October 26.
T. Van