Nearly 50 photo capturing Vietnamese pagodas through the lenses of French photographer Nicolas Cornet are on display at an exhibition that opened in Ha Noi on November 9.
French photographer Nicolas Cornet (R) at the opening ceremony of the exhibition
The photos feature popular pagodas across Viet Nam, including Tran Quoc and Mot Cot pagodas in Ha Noi, But Thap pagoda (Bac Ninh province), Pho Minh pagoda (Nam Dinh Province), and Keo pagoda (Thai Binh province), among others.
The exhibits were selected from Nicolas’s 250-page photobook highlighting the most beautiful details in architecture, decorative motifs and the daily life of Vietnamese pagodas and Buddhist temples.
The five-chapter book is the outcome of Nicolas’s visits to nearly 100 pagodas and worshipping places from the North to the South of Viet Nam over the past three years.
“I want to save the images of Vietnamese cultural heritages’ beauty. Through these photos, I hope that people will be aware of the impacts of socio-economic development on architectural heritages,” he said.
As an art director and curator, Cornet has been dividing his time between Europe and Asia for more than 30 years. He has published six photo books on Viet Nam and South East Asia.
“I was especially attracted by the historical and cultural stories of holy spaces in Viet Nam as well as their role in the life of Vietnamese people,” he said.
The ‘Vietnamese Pagodas’ exhibition will run until December 31 at French Cultural Centre L'Espace, 24 Trang Tien street, Hoan Kiem district, Ha Noi.