SPIRIT OF PLACE

In the early 1980s, Vietnam was at the beginning of a difficult period following the war end. Sir John Ramsden, arriving in Hanoi as part of the British Diplomatic Service’s mission, found himself in the middle of the poverty-stricken and chaotic society. Amidst the post-war living environment, however, one could feel a sense of hope and a relentless fighting spirit of the Vietnamese people.

Sir John went for long walks around the city of Hanoi, bicycled out to the surrounding villages and made trips during the weekends, always bringing along his camera. More than 1,800 photographs of Hanoi had been taken as a result between 1980 and 1983.

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Sad to be missing the exhibition Hanoi Spirit of Places starting from 19th October, but always enchanted to hear old stories about a place you thought you knew well already - and how the storyteller felt, revisiting the city 30 years later, in his own words, in pictures.