Journalist and artist Pham Cong Thang with “Emotional Slices”

(NADS) - 30 black and white portraits, 40 x 40, selected from thousands of photos that Journalist and Artist Pham Cong Thang has painstakingly taken over the past decades, have created the photo exhibition "Slices of Emotion" opening on the morning of October 20 at the "Photographic Memory" Space, No. 225, Dang Tien Dong, Hanoi.

Journalists and photographers attended the exhibition.

This is a series of close-up portraits depicting the faces of old men and women with eyes full of longing, contemplation, and concern for old age; the sad, distant eyes of young women sitting selling goods, expressing their worries about making a living at highland markets; the carefree and cheerful smiles of old people and village women at cultural festivals in Vietnamese villages. In particular, in two-thirds of the exhibition space, he devoted all his time to the photography of children - the future generation of the country.

Journalist and artist Pham Cong Thang shared that he was very impressed with the photos capturing the satisfied smile of a hundred-year-old woman, her face pensive, looking far away at the Dinh Bang village festival, Bac Ninh, taken in 2002; the anxious eyes of a baby waiting for her mother to return from the market in Hoai Duc (Hanoi) taken in 2007; the image of two children in the Lung Cu highlands, Ha Giang, smiling happily, whispering to each other, taken in 2012; six grandmothers and grandchildren smiling brightly at the Chem Mau Temple Festival (Bac Tu Liem, Hanoi); a 90-year-old woman next to a betel mortar in Hoang Quang (Hoang Hoa, Thanh Hoa) taken in 1985... And many other works expressing different emotions in the photo collection that he chose to display today.

Journalist, Artist Pham Cong Thang talks about the topic "Emotional Slices"

In addition to journalism and photography, Journalist and Artist Pham Cong Thang also published two photo books "Wandering with Pham Cong Thang" (2017) and "Wandering with Pham Cong Thang" (2020) published by the Vietnam Union of Literature and Arts Associations. He successfully organized two art photo exhibitions "Homeland" in 1999 in Thanh Hoa and "Moment" in 2017 in Hanoi.

In addition, he is also passionate about writing. He has introduced to readers 3 short story collections: "The Turn" in 2021; "Love in the Post-War Era" in 2022 and "Storm of Life" in 2024.

More specifically, he successfully built the "Photographic Memories" space with thousands of artifacts of journalists, artists, and outstanding photographers across the country, which was highly appreciated by colleagues, public opinion, and the press.

In order to promote activities with a more in-depth spreading spirit, in the coming time, the space "Photographic Memories" will open a new activity for photography artists and photography enthusiasts who want to exchange and share their creative achievements with the public.

The exhibition received much attention from the capital's photography community.

The photo collection "Slices of Emotion" displayed at the "Photographic Memories" space from October 20 to October 30, 2024 is one of the notable cultural activities in October of the capital's photography community.

At the opening ceremony of the gallery, many guests who were journalists and artists expressed their feelings when viewing the works of Pham Cong Thang. Artist Hoang Kim Dang highly appreciated the artistic activities of the owner of “Photographic Memories” and believed that this way of organizing the exhibition would open up a new way of working, attracting photography lovers.

Artist Tien Dung commented that each of Pham Cong Thang's exhibited photos is filled with love, observation, and exploration of the unique features of the character's soul, so the portraits are very vivid.

Journalist NSNA Viet Van said that Pham Cong Thang's exhibited photos touched viewers' emotions with their very unique angles...

Some works at the exhibition: