TALK: Vietnam 1992-93 - On the cusp of change, a photographer's journey

Hear Andy Soloman's Vietnam stories as the country began to open up, and his quest to seek out people again after more than 30 years. Vietnam 1992-93: On the cusp of change, a photographic quest Andy Soloman's landmark journeys through a country at a turning point FREE ADMISSION In 1992, British photographer and photojournalist Andy Soloman arrived in Hanoi with his cameras and bags of precious film. Vietnam was emerging from decades of war, austerity and isolation, and the country was beginning to change at extraordinary speed. What began as a single trip became a defining chapter in Andy’s life. He travelled from Hanoi across the north, over mountains, along international borders, down the coast and intothe Central Highlands. He witnessed a country mired in poverty but bursting with optimism and resourcefulness. He was sucked in and embraced, and then spent the next seven years as a photojournalisty based in Hanoi and photographing the people, places and everyday moments he encountered along the way. In this special artist and photographer talk, presented alongside Andy’s Hanoi: Traces of Time exhibition at the Metropole, Andy takes you behind the photographs and back to Vietnam he witnessed in the early 1990s. Through a personal selection of his original photographs, journals and stories, Andy will recall a Vietnam that has largely disappeared: Hanoi’s bicycle-filled streets, traditional communities, markets and villages, the northern mountains, the Central Highlands, factories, weddings and the extraordinary people who welcomed a foreign photographer into their lives. These are not simply photographs of places. They are photographs of encounters. Andy will talk about what it was like to travel through Vietnam at a pivotal moment in its history, how he gained access to people and communities, and the stories behind some of his most memorable images. He will also reflect on his quest to seek out some of the same people he met more than rthree decades later. In 2022–25, Andy returned to locations across Vietnam to find people he had photographed in 1992–93, reconnecting with some of the individuals and communities whose portraits had remained in his archive for more than 30 years. The resulting Continuum: Vietnam project brings the past and present together in an extraordinary photographic dialogue. This is a rare opportunity to hear directly from the photographer behind the images and discover the stories, adventures and human encounters that shaped his enduring relationship with Vietnam. An intimate afternoon of photography, travel, memory and storytelling — and a journey back to Vietnam before it began to change. About Andy Soloman Andy Soloman is a British travel and documentary photographer and former photojournalist. His defining photographic journey began in Vietnam in 1992. After seven years based in Hanoi, he continued his career internationally with Reuters, including work in Singapore and Pakistan, before returning to the UK. Today he works full-time on long-term documentary, travel and fine-art photography projects, with Vietnam remaining at the heart of his photographic life. He is a Leica photographer specialising in documentary, travel and fine art.