Artists, techies capture spirit of old Ha Noi

Many artists have tried to revive the quaint beauty of "old" Ha Noi, a city that will mark its millennium anniversary in 2010.

One such artist is Bui Xuan Phai.

He has devoted most of his life to painting scenes of quiet streets and small houses with peeling paint and moss-covered tile roofs. Phai’s works, full of nostalgia for an era long past, earned him the nickname Phai Pho, or Phai of the old streets.

The Khang, an artist that paints in black and white almost exclusively, made his mark by resurrecting scenes of life in 19th-century Ha Noi.

His 23 lacquer paintings, carefully crafted pictures of old monuments, street vendors, scribes in turbans and long robes and mandarins riding on palanquins, can be likened to a mini-documentary of Ha Noi’s past, no mean feat for a self-taught artist in his 70s.

More recently, a group of five young architects and architecture students decided to preserve the city’s long history using electronic means.

The five IT specialists, who call themselves 3D-Ha Noi, set up shop at Cafe 18C on Cha Ca Street.

They began their conservation project with few financial resources, but somehow got a grant from the Swedish-Vietnamese Cultural Fund as the project neared its spectacular end.

After two hectic years, the group was able to unveil the final result of their strenuous labour at an exhibition called Ha Noi Through the Prism of Time last January.

On display were breathtaking digitally reconstructed images of the capital as it was during three different periods: before French rule, under the French administration and during the 60 days of street fighting in late 1946 and early 1947, when parts of the city were razed to the ground to deny shelter to enemies.

The five compared the periods in Ha Noi’s dramatic history and showcased how French architecture came to overtake much the city’s older Vietnamese styles.

Viewers were most impressed by the aerial views of old Ha Noi, made possible thanks to recent archaeological discoveries. They saw the former glory of the Royal Citadel, the sprawling grounds of the Bao An Pagoda, of which only one small archway is left on the corner of Hoan Kiem Lake and what Transverse Street looked like when it was filled to the brim with Chinese-owned shops.

Audiences also got a chance to see the city’s many transformations thanks to German architect Lena Hairmann. The amateur photographer presented 15 photos showcasing the more than 50-year metamorphosis of a house on Hang Ga Street.

Before the French arrived, Number 53 only had one storey and no front windows to prevent Vietnamese from peeping at passing royal processions.

During the colonial period, the house was renovated and now boasted a set of French windows. Today, there stands a modern four-storey building, replacing the old structure that was demolished in 1995.

Flushed by their initial success, 3D-Ha Noi is setting its sights on digitally restoring the ancient port in Hoi An, the ruins of Cham in My Son and other historic sites across the country. — VNS


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