‘Long Bien Bridge – The Connection’, a photography exhibition by US photographer Douglas Jardine will open this evening at Maison des Arts, 31A Van Mieu street in Hanoi.

Over 50 black-and-white photos taken in the past six months will be on display, featuring the beauty of Long Bien bridge and the surrounding environment as well as the lives of residents in the floating houses on the Red River.

The exhibition also displays the artist’s panoramas composed of 9-10 small photos attached together to capture a wide view of the landscape and the architecture of the bridge.

“I heard about Long Bien bridge when I was six years old through an article about the US bombing Hanoi which included a picture of the bridge taken by the US Air Force and I was very interested in this monument”, said photographer Douglas Jardine who is now the Director of Academic Affairs at the Faculty of Foreign Studies of the Hanoi University.

“When I came to Vietnam five years ago, the very first thing I wanted to do was the real bridge with my own eyes. I was so amazed that from that time, it has been a never-ending inspiration for thousands of my photos,” added Jardine at a press conference this morning.

Explaining the title of the exhibition, the artist from Connecticut, US said “I named the exhibition ‘Long Bien Bridge – The Connection’ because the bridge not only spans the banks of the Red River but also spans the banks of memory and history. When we stand on the bridge in the present we are connected to the past and we gaze at the future of this land.”

Long Bien Bridge was built in 1898 by the Daydé and Pillé company and inaugurated in 1903. It has survived after the French and US wars and still exists today. It has witnessed 12 decades of Vietnamese history and is an age-old friend of many Hanoians and generations of Vietnamese. One can experience so much of Vietnam’s history through the bridge. It not only enables trains to cross the Red River but also creates a unique social space for the people, from the young to the old, lovers and couples, and even provides shelter for those who have been left behind in Vietnam’s economic miracle.

This is Douglas Jardine’s second solo exhibition about the bridge after ‘Long Bien Bridge through Four Seasons’ was held last year .

Source: Nhan Dan