Intersections

(2024)

In 1985, my father, then a professional volleyball player for the Vietnamese military, went to Siem Reap with his team as part of a training camp. This was his first time stepping foot on foreign land. A year later, he was sent back to Siem Reap, not as an athlete, but as a soldier.

In 1996, my father, then a new father working in the airline industry, had to leave his wife and first born in Ha Noi for a business trip to Siem Reap. He described the time spent in his hotel room there as “the loneliest nights” of his life.

In 2024, I travelled to Siem Reap with my father after having moved away for two years. This marked our first trip together. He spent four days with me before leaving back to Vietnam for his work. A day later, my lover came to visit me without him knowing.

Intersections examines my relationships under the aftermath of the American War, and unpacks how this ongoing colonial structure causes a persisting division between my loved ones. Through collaboration with my father and my partner, the two people I actively keep away from ever meeting each other, I re-examine the context of masculinity and intimacy that I was raised in. I try to break open what remains withheld, as the two worlds collide.

🏫 The project was created during Angkor Photo Workshops
*An excerpt from Thành Phẩm