Khánh Bùi Phú
The Ancient Craft of Nomadic Fishing in Vietnamese Lakes and Rivers
Artphilein Editions, Lugano — 2021
Born in Da Lat, Vietnam, Khánh Bùi Phú is a freelance photographer passionate about the cultural traditions and natural environments of his country.
The portfolio Make a nomadic living in a water ecosystem is the result of four years spent documenting the lives of nomadic fishermen on Tuyen Lam Lake in the Western Highlands region. Tuyen Lam, which may appear to be an archetypal pristine lake, is in truth a large artificial reservoir created in 1987 with the construction of a dam on the Tia River. Behind the images of evocative and poetic intensity lies the precariousness of those traditional fishermen, who live isolated on rafts, without property or land to cultivate and without education. The intention of Khánh Bùi Phú is to raise awareness of how economic and social inequalities, as well as environmental exploitation, deeply threaten the very survival of these communities.
This project was selected by Artphilein Editions to be awarded with the publication of this photobook as special prize within the UP21 Unpublished Photo 2021 contest Lugano at Musec Museo delle Culture.
