A new way to promote Western culture

From zines

The products of this group of young people are publications such as calendars, posters, postcards, notebooks, etc. and especially zines. Zine is an element of the word “magazine”, which is simply understood as an independent publication, often printed in limited quantities, by hand, combining many materials and styles. Each zine is an almost unique product.

Ngoc Suong (left cover) and members of Lon Xon with products about Western culture.

The house of the group of young people is on Tran Phu Street, Cai Khe Ward, Ninh Kieu District, full of colors with publications and content rich in Western culture. There are many publications specializing in boat eyes in the West, for example “The Eye of the West - a small zine about boat eyes in the West”. In this zine, the author thoroughly explains the custom of painting boat eyes, different styles and colors corresponding to each locality… The zine wrote: “Some people think that we have to paint eyes on boats to scare away monsters, crocodiles or smaller fish so that they do not attack boats, canoes”.

Or with the “Western Fruit” newspaper, the author introduces many specialties such as Tra Vinh wax coconut, Soc Trang purple longan, Lai Vung pink grapefruit - Dong Thap, Vinh Kim star apple - Tien Giang, Ben Tre mangosteen... More interestingly, the group of young people has specialized publications on how Western people use mosquito nets, from the house to the boat, from the door to the porch, in front of the house... Or “Colors of flower tiles”, which are detailed stories about flower tiles that were used in the past to cover houses in the West, with very typical colors and patterns. And there are also publications on relics and very attractive tourist destinations in the West.

But perhaps, many zines in their collection are about Western dialects. From “dị hen”, “hồ mờn”, to “trần thân”, “rạo bội”… and hundreds of words typical of the Western region are explained and analyzed by the group in a very interesting way. The special thing about these products is that the group works in a modern style, the words are very youthful, trendy and mixed with a bit of wit and fun.

Suong's Story

The group of young people is called Lon Xon and the leader is a girl named Cécile Ngoc Suong Perdu, born in 1996, currently a lecturer in Graphic Design at RMIT University ( Ho Chi Minh City). Suong's father is French, her mother is Vietnamese. Her friends often call her Ngoc Suong - a girl who has loved the culture of the West since she was a child.

Some of the design products of Messy.

Ngoc Suong said that when he was a student, her father read books and documents about Vietnamese culture and was fascinated by this country with so many interesting things. After graduating from university, her father chose to leave France and come to Vietnam to work and live. After marrying a girl from the West, they bought a transport ship in the Nga Bay boat building village (Hau Giang), converted it into a tourist ship to both do business and have the opportunity to explore the West. Thanks to that, the girl born in 1996 also loved the culture of the West from the beginning, even though she studied abroad in England for a time, majoring in technology.

Ngoc Suong said that she used to be a lecturer at FPT University Can Tho, also specializing in graphic design. She cherished the idea of ​​establishing a design community in Can Tho. About 4 years ago, Ngoc Suong gathered graphic products from students majoring in the field to submit to the Vietnam Creative Design Festival and was highly appreciated. Since then, Ngoc Suong established a group, named Lon Xon, which has been operating until now. Lon Xon connects young people who are passionate about creating digital content, especially on the topic of indigenous culture. Ngoc Suong shared: "Lon Xon wants to introduce Western culture in the unique way of young people specializing in technology".

And the story of the Messy group

The 6 members of Lon Xon are all young people who are passionate about promoting culture through technology. They share that when it comes to the characteristics of the West, there are many things that people do not know or do not pay attention to because they are too familiar. But for tourists, especially foreign tourists, these are really interesting stories. Having studied graphic design, the group creates creative products with a youthful, cheerful, and unconventional language.

Ngoc Suong said: “The group’s products are currently chosen by customers, mainly young people and foreign visitors. Lon Xon’s zines also have English versions and have followed tourists to many countries around the world, participating in many fairs and specialized exhibitions. Thanks to that, the beauty of the West in particular, and Vietnam in general, is known to more international friends.” In addition to selling online, the group also has a fixed point of sale at Can Tho Market House in Ben Ninh Kieu. The price for each product ranges from a few tens of thousands of VND to a few hundred thousand VND, depending on the content, printing material, etc.

The group applies Risograph printing technique (abbreviated as Riso printing) which is very popular in the world but still quite new in Vietnam. Riso printing helps avoid environmental pollution because the printing material is made from rice bran oil, soybean oil, banana fiber... In particular, with the method of making ink by hand, many details on the publication when exposed to ultraviolet light, will glow very uniquely. Ngoc Suong further explained that Riso printing is not sharp, the overlapping colors do not match, creating deviations, thereby making each publication a unique copy, with a classic color. In addition, this printing method can also be combined with a unique way of arranging pages, sometimes folding in, flipping out, even turning inside out to be able to read the information... creating interesting publications.

Phan Van Khai, a member of the Lon Xon group, showed me the publication “Eat and Eat in the West”, which he designed and wrote himself. This zine introduces specialties of the West such as islets, sour soup with sesban flowers, etc. The product is illustrated with impressive drawings and short, cheerful explanations. Khai said: “I try to make it so that people who have not eaten Western food can still understand and feel it. This is a product that I really like”. Nguyen Kha Tu, a 21-year-old girl majoring in Graphic Design, was also attracted by the publications of Lon Xon posted on social networks and came to ask to be a collaborator, and now she is a member of the group. Tu said that through each product, what the students want is not only to make products to sell but also to inspire and spread love for Western culture to everyone.

Members of Lon Xon said that, although the information is short, the style is youthful and cheerful, each product needs high accuracy. Therefore, when determining the topic for the product, the group reads documents on the internet, books, and newspapers to synthesize and process information in the most accurate way.

Article and photos: DANG HUYNH

Source: https://baocantho.com.vn/mot-cach-quang-ba-van-hoa-mien-tay-moi-me-a185644.html