Utilizing an old medium-format camera and black-and-white film, I carefully composed photographs that depict staged interactions with various rice products, referencing my Vietnamese roots. The use of medium-format equipment introduced a formal, almost archival quality to the workâits precise framing and rich tonal range elevating everyday objects and gestures to a heightened aesthetic significance. Developing the film and printing the images myself added a tactile, material connection to the analogue process, reinforcing the physicality of both medium and subject.
Rice, a staple in many cuisines globally, holds layered cultural meanings within Vietnamese tradition, symbolizing prosperity, fertility, and sustenance. Its ubiquity contrasts with its cultural specificity, serving as both a mundane and deeply symbolic signifier within the work.
By positioning myself within these constructed scenarios, I engaged in acts of self-staging that blur the boundaries between the autobiographical and the performative. This approach allowed for critical reflection on the visual codes that define personal and collective identity, as well as on the ways cultural symbols are mediated through both art and everyday life.
Playful yet introspective, the series laid the foundation for my continued investigation into cultural signifiers, the politics of representation, and the complexities inherent in constructing the self through the lens of both personal history and broader cultural narratives.
