VietNamNet Bridge – Unique photos about the Co Tu, Ta Oi, and Pako peoples in Vietnam’s Thua Thien – Hue city Province by a French artist will be displayed at the French Cultural Centre (L’Espace) in Hanoi from November 6-22.

A photo by Laval.

Sebastien Laval came to Vietnam for the first time in 1995. He traveled throughout the country to discover Vietnam, which this French photographer found to be very attractive. After one month traveling along the Ho Chi Minh track, Laval thought of a photo project about ethnic minority groups in Vietnam.

In 2005, he started implementing this project by taking photos of the Pa Then people in the northern mountainous province of Ha Giang. These pictures were exhibited in Hanoi one year later.

After this exhibition, Laval pursued the project by returning to Vietnam to capture the images of the three ethnic groups, the Co Tu, the Ta Oi, and the Pa Ko peoples in the central province of Thua Thien – Hue. These photos were displayed at the Festival Hue 2008.

“The Co Tu, Ta Oi, and Pa Ko don’t maintain much of their unique characteristics, but my job is not taking photos of these people like 20 or 30 years ago, but reflecting their current life,” Laval said.

Laval, 35, trained himself as a photographer. He became a professional photographer in 1993.

(Source: Dat Viet)