Mekong River, Stories Of Men, 2009
The photographer Lâm Duc Hiên travelling-up the 4 200 km of the Mekong River from the delta in Vietnam to its source in Tibet. Back on the waters that had cradled his childhood, he reweaves his personal history while crossing the one of the men of the river. On this intimate path, it is also the destiny of a river that is shaped.
By successive portraits from the Cham in Vietnam to the Iko in Laos, Lâm Duc Hiên pays a vibrant tribute to the cultures of these peoples. He also celebrates the “Mother of rivers”, the Mekong river as an artery of civilizations or as a road where Buddhism and political ideologies are diffused.
The history of the peoples of the Mekong river unfolds over water throughout the rites of men who honor it, or by the stories whispered by survivors.
The destiny of the river is also shaped by great hydraulic projects aiming to capture its waters and control its debit, but also by the impact of daily activities of its neighbors. Lâm Duc Hiên built a panorama of water issues, under the point of view of resource management: from the pharaonic dams in China to the efforts of men of the delta to fight against salinization. Thereby, Lâm Duc Hiên testifies of economic and cultural practices of populations that live on the river and exploit its wealth.
Vietnam
Cambodge
Laos
Yunnan et Tibet
