Photographer wants to record changes in Việt Nam
An exhibition at Deutsches Haus in HCM City is a retrospective of Thomas Billhardt's work in Việt Nam from 1962-1999, including photos from the south of Việt Nam that have never been shown in the country before. After an exhibition titled Hà Nội 1967-1975
What impresses you about Việt Nam today?
I think it is friendly, open, and confident and changes the way of communication and thinking. In the past, when I met Vietnamese, it seemed that they avoided eye contact when talking. But now they are more confident.
Not only that, Vietnamese people now dare to think, dare to do and dare to do what they want.
I have travelled to Việt Nam many times, witnessing bad things happening here. I used to be pessimistic thinking about your future. But when I come back here, I see a new Việt
Nam in a different picture.
I want to continue organising photo exhibitions making a small contribution to this change in Việt Nam.
How do you take photos Việt Nam today?
I take photos quickly. I don't focus on tourist spots like the Old Quarter. I'm interested in how the life of Vietnamese people is going today.
I have a chance to introduce my photos on Việt Nam today. I want to record changes in Việt Nam. I want to take photos of Việt Nam continuously with groups of tourists in the country.
Are you a special tour guide on your visits to Việt Nam?
My job is to convey the Vietnamese people's history and identity to people interested in Vietnamese history and culture.
I hope that I will help tourists understand the life and history of Việt Nam with my experiences, photos and stories.
They will not make comparisons only or find differences between Việt Nam in the past and the present. They will understand that it is your renewal process for a long time.
Therefore, I am not a normal tour guide just taking tourists to attraction spots. The tourists ask me to guide them because they want to know about Vietnamese culture.
What do you most want to do now?
No matter what point of my life, I want to dedicate myself and do useful things. However, at this age, I can no longer go as much as before. So I spend a lot of time writing.
I want to write for the younger generation. I'm going to release a book on Alexanderplatz Square in Berlin - a place that has been associated with many milestones in my life.
After that is a book about Chile and maybe there will be a photo book with the photos I just took.
In war and peace, there is both pessimism and optimism. Which direction are you inclined to in life?
I'm unsure about being an optimist or a pessimist, but I admit I'm scared. I'm scared of development in the world, from politics to the economy, because the news I read now makes me sceptical instead of believing immediately.
Streams of information are released because they give viewers what they want, so it's no longer authentic.
So, first thing, I was sceptical about what I should believe. That's why I'm scared.