This blog post is one month late. I got back from Angkor Photo Festival still hungover from all the booze and whirlwind of activities/ emotions. I shared about my experience there on Matca already, but words cannot summarize the intensity of everything... And I did not talk about amazing friends and the overall supportive vibe of the group, the quiet bar on Soksan rd whose lovely owner from Chaudok sold us beers at local price, the random karaoke party we got invited to, my awkward performance at an empty KTV one night, my glittering manicure that came apart after 2 days, or the hooker who told me her life story and broke down in tears, et cetera. Flashes of Siem Reap night colors still come back to me these days, I keep searching for that spark still.  

31/11 - 13/12/2017, Siem Reap, Cambodia./ 

I have had the honor of receiving a grant to attend IPA Mentorship program and taking over their Instagram last week, which results in an Artist Spotlight feature. Click on the link for the stories behind my series I'll Be Your Mirror and sneak peeks from Finding My Grandfathers. 

Rehearsal for Lang Toi show, Hanoi, 26th May 2017. 

These images were taken with an Olympus Pen EE3 that I borrowed from my girlfriend Linh. The cheesy letter to the half-frame camera could be viewed on Matca. 

Hoa Binh, Mai Chau and Sapa, March - May 2017./

Here went the compulsory rainbow colors, gaudy wigs, artist names containing the word 'Queen' with a capital Q and passionate lipsyncing to Beyonce's songs: the Hanoi Mardi Gras festival, paying tribute to Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, presented itself as a midscale drag show. And I have always had mixed feelings about drag shows. First, it's the fact that the stage is often the only place where queer bodies are accepted after being adorned with concealer and light-reflecting cloths. Second, queer representation is often in the form of a contest which rewards the the ability of trans to pass as straight, the complexity of their 'performance' and tearjerking stories of untold struggles with identity crisis ending with a wish for acceptance from family and society. It's celebratory and necessary, and yet for me it's a tired cliche that enhances gender binary and stereotypes about the LGBTQ community.

​A drag queen hastily put on their edgy metallic-like dress to perform Lady Gaga's Telephone, revealing the word (wish?) LOVE on their arm. A pole dancer with ribbon-tattooed butt cheeks was dangling on a stick that contained the weight of their whole body over a longing theme song. Their costumes, handmade for the night, were flapping hysterically in the wind. The audience cheered and the cameramen shot before glamour expired once the light went off.

​Hanoi, 25th March 2017./