Quang Hai Nguyen
.image gallery
Pronouns
They/Them
Location
Montreal,
QC -
Canada
Links
Status
Active
Bio
Quang Hai Nguyen is a Vietnamese photographer born and based in Tiohtiá:ke/Mooniyang/ Montreal who explores the notion of home and grief within diasporic communities. Through the contemplation of everyday life and the people that surround him, photography is tool for introspection, a mirror that reflects the ephemerality and loneliness of our being while also revealing universal feelings. He obtained a college diploma in photography at Cégep du Vieux Montréal and is currently pursuing this degree at Concordia University.
Artist Statement
My artistic practice in photography explores how fictional storytelling can bloom into a form of gathering within the broader Vietnamese diaspora. As we struggle to find ourselves a sense of belonging within the multiple stories that we inherited from the past, the relationship between portrait and landscape photography reminds us that our presence can not only coexist within the frame of time and space but can also go even beyond our disappearance. Photography, thus, has this natural ability to trace the memories built over time, to remind us of the preciousness and ephemeral aspects of our being, and to cherish those who are close to us today.
My photography untangles these past linear narratives to break the boundaries of one’s cultural identity. In this case, the notion of home is not only seen as a physical space but can also be felt by the memories carried through generations. While it can become a lifelong journey filled with uncertainties and unanswered questions for newborn racialized youth, I believe that we have this innate gift of reimagining or building a home wherever we go. By documenting specific chapters of my life as a visual diary, my practice depicts my personal experience growing up as a Canadian-born Vietnamese and unfolds this universal feeling shared amongst diasporic communities.
Bio
Quang Hai Nguyen is a Vietnamese photographer born and based in Tiohtiá:ke/Mooniyang/ Montreal who explores the notion of home and grief within diasporic communities. Through the contemplation of everyday life and the people that surround him, photography is tool for introspection, a mirror that reflects the ephemerality and loneliness of our being while also revealing universal feelings. He obtained a college diploma in photography at Cégep du Vieux Montréal and is currently pursuing this degree at Concordia University.
Artist Statement
My artistic practice in photography explores how fictional storytelling can bloom into a form of gathering within the broader Vietnamese diaspora. As we struggle to find ourselves a sense of belonging within the multiple stories that we inherited from the past, the relationship between portrait and landscape photography reminds us that our presence can not only coexist within the frame of time and space but can also go even beyond our disappearance. Photography, thus, has this natural ability to trace the memories built over time, to remind us of the preciousness and ephemeral aspects of our being, and to cherish those who are close to us today.
My photography untangles these past linear narratives to break the boundaries of one’s cultural identity. In this case, the notion of home is not only seen as a physical space but can also be felt by the memories carried through generations. While it can become a lifelong journey filled with uncertainties and unanswered questions for newborn racialized youth, I believe that we have this innate gift of reimagining or building a home wherever we go. By documenting specific chapters of my life as a visual diary, my practice depicts my personal experience growing up as a Canadian-born Vietnamese and unfolds this universal feeling shared amongst diasporic communities.
