Any traveller to Vietnam will be able to regale you with stories of the hustle and vibrancy of the local street vendors. Now one photographer has captured this cultural phenomenon in a new light.
Dutch photographer Loes Heerink lived in Hanoi for several years, and became enraptured by the local street vendors. These vendors are often female migrants that spend most of their days trying to make profits on selling fruit, vegetables, snacks and other small items. Photographing the women became a project of Heerink’s, who would often wake at 4am and wait for hours for the right subject to photograph.
Heerink would station herself on different bridges around Hanoi, patiently waiting for vendors to pass in order to photograph these women as they unknowingly moved below the bridge. “This project started my fascination for the women carrying their goods,” Heerink wrote on her Kickstarter page. “They have no clue how beautiful their bicycles are, no idea that they create little pieces of art every day.”
The resulting photographs offer a unique view of Vietnamese culture, and show how art can be hidden in the every day.
Heerink has collated her prints in a new book to be published, thanks to the efforts of her Kickstarter campaign. “Thanks to you this project became a success!” she wrote. “You have no idea how happy you made me!”
You can find out more about Heerink’s work via her website here
Click through our gallery above to view these incredible photos. All images courtesy of the artist.
