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| Family and friends of musician Trinh Cong Son, and the people with great affection for him reuniting at the exhibition |
Everyday moments
In early March, people with great affection for Trinh Cong Son in Hue were able to see him again through the photo exhibition themed “Trinh Cong Son - Meeting you again for the first time”, which was held at Lan Vien Co Tich – the Huong River Museum of Antique Pottery (at 120 Nguyen Phuc Nguyen Street, Hue City). On that day, Lan Vien Co Tich's poetic garden was even more special thanks to the presence of the late musician Trinh Cong Son via his photos, friends, and people loving him.
After the exhibition at Lan Vien Co Tich, the photos capturing the late musician Trinh Cong Son continued to be displayed in a larger space at the Center for Culture, Information and Sports of Hue City (23-25 Le Loi Street, Hue City) from March 16 to April 2.
Viewers couldn’t help but be moved when they first saw the familiar images of Trinh Cong Son with his relatives, friends and artists, such as: Trinh Cong Son talking about music with the late musician Van Cao, playing the piano with pianist Dang Thai Son, talking with poet Nguyen Duy, with musician Thanh Tung, musician Hoang Hiep, as well as foreign artists including singer Liz Michell, leader of the famous band Boney M; Hong Kong actor Tony Leung Chiu-wai, and many other famous artists, etc.
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| The exhibition is an opportunity for the public who loves the talented musician to meet him again |
Ms. Bui Viet, a teacher who admires Trinh Cong Son, shared: "As Trinh Cong Son's music is my favorite one, and I myself admire the late talented musician, I was very touched when seeing the exhibition. It is so precious that the photos capturing the moments when Son was alone thoughtful, met his friends, and his simple images in everyday life that have been preserved until now. After Son went away, we, the old students of Dong Khanh School (now Hai Ba Trung High School), often went to the house of Mr. Buu Y, Ms. Thai Kim Lan, or Hue City Center for Culture and Information to sing Trinh's music together to remember him, a talented musician of Hue".
For the relatives of the late musician, that the exhibition brought to Hue still has a special meaning. Ms. Trinh Vinh Trinh, a younger sister of Trinh Cong Son, and a singer, shared: "Although the exhibition had been held in Ho Chi Minh City before, when it was brought to Hue, it gave me special feelings. It was the warmth of returning home, meeting friends and brothers/sisters, who were once close to Son.”
According to a representative of the late musician's family, the legacy of Trinh Cong Son no longer belongs to the family but to everyone. The exhibition is the initial step to continue the journey to bring his legacy to the public, especially to Hue, so as to have a place where his legacy is maintained and preserved.
Having been captured and kept for more than 30 years
The exhibition introduced 35 photos capturing the everyday moments of the late musician Trinh Cong Son. These photos were taken by the photographer Duong Minh Long, and have been kept by him for more than 30 years. These photos are selected among over 9.000 color and black-and-white films, shot about Trinh Cong Son by Duong Minh Long in 11 years, starting from October 25, 1990 until he went away.
Duong Minh Long shared that the exhibition was named “Trinh Cong Son – Meeting you again for the first time” because he had never exhibited the photos capturing the musician Trinh Cong Son then.
He said: “After having stored photos of Trinh Cong Son for 22 years, this is the first time I have exhibited them, and also the first time I met him through every photo. This is also the first time that Son and the people in the photos, along with friends who have known him in Hue as well as many other cities, met him again in the moments when they met. It's also the time for those who love him to see him again."
The photographer added that the exhibition only introduced 35 photos because when he was alive, on every birthday, Trinh Cong Son wanted that he was 35 years old in that year; and 5 years or 10 years later, he would still be 35 years old. The number of exhibited photos, at 35, is also to recall the story of the musician's saying on every birthday.
“I followed Son for 11 years Morning, at noon, afternoon, or evening. It was simply the love for the job and the musician. I love him and his music. The volume of photographic film is huge, and I have just kept it for decades without doing anything," shared Duong Minh Long.
When taking portraits of Trinh Cong Son, Duong Minh Long wanted to describe the musician's life through the photos, preserving the musician’s sad, lonely, and contemplative moments in his own world. According to the photographer, every time he finished taking photos, Trinh Cong Son never asked how the photos were taken or expressed his desire to review them. He also had never printed the photos to show the musician, after taking them, he just developed the films and kept them.
“Son was very gentle and mild. He was very passionate about photography and treated the photographers with kindness. Whenever I asked him for a photo session or moment, he never refused. Even when I wanted him to change his shirts many times, he also agreed," recalled Mr. Long.