Born at Viet Street, Edinburgh, this collection of reportage illustrations is an attempt to capture humanity at its most human and mundane. These moments capture people simply existing as we flip through their lives and think of their stories.
This project is a study of Viet Street, Edinburgh, through different days and times. But more than that, it is a study of the people living in this city, day after day, as they live and breathe. A study of the different personalities that visit the place. The place is made not just by the architecture, but by the people that inhabit it.
The aim of this project is not to do anything more than to capture people being people; humanity existing on its own.
There is a lot of conflict and hate in the world. It is often in this hate that we forget who lies at the receiving end of war. Behind social media posts of hate and outrage, behind decisions made in an air-conditioned office, behind the glory of capturing nations; behind it all, we forget the people.
We have a habit of distancing ourselves from people who don’t look like us. People are often dehumanized as they are hurt- we think of them not as people anymore. We think not of their lives and their families. We start thinking of them as static- as a number or an object.
This project is an attempt to get us to pause and look at people for themselves: to think of their lives and the stories behind them.
Portrayed through a series of illustrations from the restaurant at different times of day, we see people of varying backgrounds stop by and experience Vietnam in Edinburgh. More so, we see these people simply existing. Whether they are talking about a photograph, or school, or showing off a new camera; they exist in the space given to them, and live their own stories.
I would like you to take a moment to look at these snapshots and reflect as I have. Think of their stories. Think of their lives. We do not know these people. They are simply faces in a crowd. But they are us, and we are them. Each person is unique, yet they are similar in that they are all living their own stories and time, and they are deserving of the same respect.
Goodbye from, and to, everyone at Viet Street.