For most of my existence, I have been fighting with my parents to achieve freedom for myself. The priceless space that offers me the right to make my own decisions in any circumstances, to freely follow my dreams, and to live as a young man with countless ambitions independently. Asian parents are well-known for being invariably overprotective of their children, which triggered my curiosity about what it is like to be a child raised by non-Asian parents. Is it necessarily true that Western parents are more liberal as they seemingly give the decisions and feelings of their children more consideration? Back in April 2017, when I had a conversation with a Canadian friend and his mother, I asked a question that had always been deeply hidden in my memory related to my curiosity of the Parent-Child relationship in Western society: "Would you move to an elderly care center or live with your son when you are old?" She held her son's hand and said: "Of course I would live with my son. Therefore M, please don't leave me alone when I'm old, honey." I felt shocked and, at the same time, immensely emotional by her answer. It fractured my bright imaginary perception of aging in Western countries. This series of images was taken in a nursing home in Hanoi throughout April 2021. I talked to the elders here, listened to them, sympathized with them, and witnessed different emotional nuances from numerous stories. My approach illustrates the imaginary fear of loneliness at old age, the feeling of pointlessness and emptiness. The definition of time becomes vague. Life turns upside down in a loop of boredom as there are no more objectives and expectations.
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About
Vinh Tran is a documentary and street photographer currently based in Vietnam. Vinh allows his photography to become his vocabulary, allowing the visual to become his words. Vinh's first photography approach was in January 2015, when he bought his first film camera – the rangefinder Yashica Electro 35GT. Vinh took a tonne of photographs, and he spent most of his money buying and developing films. Shooting film, at the time, was a therapeutic photography practice that helped him cured all of his anxiety. One day, unaware of who she was, Vinh read an article about Vivian Maier, the American street photographer, and was utterly astonished. Her story was so inspirational to Vinh and changed his life, a full 360 degrees since then. For Vinh, photography has become part of his daily practice, carrying a camera all the time and taking images of everything and everyone. Photography has become an integral part of his life.

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