Each country has its own characteristics, shaped by natural conditions such as climate, altitude, and the color of vegetation, all of which influence human life.
In addition, artificial factors such as architectural forms, politics, and social structures also affect people’s moods and expressions, along with other elements including religion and culture.
From the perspective of someone trained in landscape architecture, it becomes clear that each country, region, and location generates different psychological responses. This project is a collaboration with DNNLY Vietnam — Don’t Be Afraid to Say Love by ChiLab Vietnam, an initiative experimenting with interdisciplinary creativity from Vietnam, adapting to contemporary changes and applying research to everyday life in order to strengthen human connection.
The project set out to explore the differences among ten landscape spaces across five cities and regions stretching from north to south Vietnam: Vung Tau Beach in Ho Chi Minh City, Saigon in Ho Chi Minh City, Da Lat, Hue, and Hanoi. At each stop, two parks or open spaces were selected to test how activities and landscapes influence the models featured in the photographs. Different landscapes and cultural contexts generate distinct emotional responses.
These reactions are shaped not only by the subjects themselves but also by objective environmental factors such as altitude, tree density, temperature, and urban construction density. Both natural and artificial conditions directly affect human life and contribute to the overall energy of a space. The choice of the Ao Dai as the central garment was intentional. It is visually striking while remaining deeply connected to Vietnamese daily life, making it an ideal element for an interactive social experiment.
The testing process developed by DNNLY Vietnam began with the selection of five Ao Dai designers or brands in Vietnam known for their thoughtful conceptual approaches, engagement with contemporary generations, and social responsibility. Each designer brings specific concerns to their work, ranging from the promotion of traditional textile villages and folk culture to contemporary Vietnamese identity, applying these influences in a humane and globally conscious way.
Following interviews with these designers, five localities were selected based on their thematic connection to the respective brands. The chosen Ao Dai designs were then tested within parks and open landscape spaces in each of these locations.
The individuals appearing in the photo series were collaborators rather than professional models, allowing for a more natural integration into the spaces and everyday life portrayed.
The featured designers and their corresponding cities include:
dada.ww – “Poetic” – Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Lơ Silk – “Freedom” – Hanoi, Vietnam
Huy Vo – “Heritage” – Hue, Vietnam
Duc Studio – “Bold” – Da Lat, Vietnam
Trang Bui – “Dynamic” – Vung Tau Beach, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
In each locality, two distinctive parks were selected, resulting in ten photographic series that reflect varied emotional experiences without imposing the character of one place upon another. This approach generated a diversity of moods — joyful, melancholic, reflective, rebellious — shaped organically by each environment.
Ultimately, the project aspires to encourage the development of more beautiful green areas, parks, and open public spaces in Vietnam.
About Chiron Duong
Chiron Duong, also known as Dat Duong, is a fine art photographer and landscape architect. His practice promotes a global message of hope, peace, love, and magic through the design and construction of humanistic photographic processes. His work integrates Vietnamese and Eastern cultures into multidisciplinary fields including psychology, sociology, ecology, and tourism.
He describes photography not only as the result of a displayed image but as a process that involves responsible gestures toward the environment, culture, and society. For him, photography fosters meaningful interactions between people in the real world and reminds individuals of the contrast between the vivid worldview of a child and the emptiness and loneliness often experienced by adults in urban environments.
In 2025, he founded DNNLY Vietnam to promote Vietnamese art and connect it globally through multidisciplinary links between creativity, economics, and sociology, grounded in the spirit of integration and contribution.
He also developed ChiLab, a sociological project that uses photography to connect real and virtual life, and Dremachi Space, a platform dedicated to design and creative inspiration rooted in Vietnamese and broader Eastern folk art and crafts. [Official Website]
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