
I have picked some of my most interesting photos of Vietnamese art for this series. Vietnam has its unique style of art, using strong colors and somewhat kitschy motifs at times. Political art in the form of posters and statues shows a strong socialist realism influence due to the close ties Vietnam used to have with Soviet Union.

A Buddhist statue, Vietnamese style.


This statue of Buddha can be found on top of the Marble Mountain
half way
between
My Khe Beach (aka China Beach) and
Hoi An
.

This temple close to Dalat in the Vietnamese highlands is decorated with broken porcelain, old bottles etc. When there is a will there is a way...

The inside of the temple is lavishly decorated. It is surprising that Vietnamese artists
and artisans have achieved such beauty with broken stuff as their material.

This close-up of a dragon clearly shows the use of porcelain pieces.

Valley of Love in Dalat. The statues have been cast in cement and brightly painted.

The Vietnamese obviously love this sort of art. We find it a bit surreal.

Traditional Buddhist statues done in a rather kitschy manner.

In Dalat it is possible to have your photo taken as settlers
in
the old West. Naturally we wanted to have a go as well...

Stuffed monkeys in a "funny" pose. How could this possibly be any kitschier?

Welcome to the X Party Congress. The style of Vietnamese political
posters certainly has its roots in Soviet Russian socialist realism.

Another example... The man in the poster is probably Uncle Ho himself.

Victory day poster in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon).

This series wouldn't be complete without at least one statue of
Vietnamese war heroes.
You can find all our photos and stories on Vietnam at
Vietnam photo series and
travel stories