Art / Documentary photography
Võ An Khánh exhibition of Vietnam War photography shown at IC Visual Lab
Produced in conjunction with Dogma Collection in Ho Chi Minh City, a collection of Vietnam War photography from Võ An Khánh (1936-2023) is now on display at IC Visual Lab.
Mangrove Theatre is Võ’s debut monographic exhibition in Europe. He was a member of the North Vietnam Communist Army, and photographed the lives of guerilla fighters, as well as their wider communities, throughout the conflict.
Between the years 1962 and 1975, he staged a photographic exhibition in the exceptionally challenging condition of mangrove forests and developed his negatives in the field, storing them in ammunition boxes with rice to absorb moisture.
is needed now More than ever
His images are arresting not only for particularly for what they show of the war itself, but of the communities living their everyday lives in the midst of it.
Photo: © Võ An Khánh. Courtesy of Dogma Collection
“For decades”, the exhibition notes point out, “Western photographers shaped how the world saw the Vietnam War through images of pain and bloodshed.
“While these photographs stirred emotions worldwide, they reduced Vietnam to a narrow stereotype. Võ’s images stand as a testament to the complexity of life.”
Võ An Khánh, Mobile classrooms next to the bunker, ưithin range of Chu Y station, Khanh Hung hamlet. The teacher is Ms. Bay Tan from Hao Sai hamlet – photo: © Võ An Khánh. Courtesy of Dogma Collection
In this vein, it is the “relative stillness” of these photographs that carries their weight.
“Women can be seen performing balletic leads across flooded fields, while children study in makeshift forest classrooms.
Võ An Khánh, A song and dance class in the Southwestern region, which had begun in 1970 and lasted more than one year since the students had to simultaneously study and fight the enemy during the war, 1970-71 – photo: © Võ An Khánh
“Elsewhere medics operate standing knee-deep in swamp water – a scene of wartime surrealism that Hollywood studios would spend fortunes attempting to recreate.”
Accompanying Võ’s photographs, Mangrove Theatre presents a series of images by globally renowned war photographers including Don McCullin, Tim Page and Nick Ut.
Võ An Khánh, Students in Kinh Hang Village, Tran Van Thoi District, Ca Mau province, in a mobile classroom, April 1970, 1970 – photo: © Võ An Khánh. Courtesy of Dogma Collection
2025 marks 50 years since the end of the Vietnam War, known variously as the ‘Fall’ or ‘Liberation’ of Saigon (1975).
As the exhibition curators point out, with such a milestone anniversary comes an opportunity to reappraise the written history and “the stories told” of Vietnam – and perhaps to “better understand the communities that experienced these events”.
Võ An Khánh, Firing grenades at enemy posts using scaffolds and elastic bands – a unique invention of the people in the war – photo: © Võ An Khánh. Courtesy of Dogma Collection
Mangrove Theatre: the Wartime Photography of Võ An Khánh is IC Visual Lab until September 14 (open Thursday-Saturday, 12-5pm). For more information on this and future exhibitions, visit www.icvl.co.uk.
Main photo: Võ An Khánh (A soldier at Hon Da Bac, Tran Van Thoi, Ca Mau 1972; © Võ An Khánh. Courtesy of Dogma Collection)
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