Freelance photographer Nguyễn Văn Mỹ, or Mỹ Dũng. He opens his solo exhibition, Encoding Time, in introducing paintings of portrait among Vietnamese people and culture in the 19th-20th century. — Photos courtesy of Mỹ Dũng

ĐÀ NẴNG — A collection of 30 portrait paintings on canvas, glass wall art in wooden frames and soot by Đà Nẵng-born photographer Nguyễn Văn Mỹ, also known as Mỹ Dũng, 67, is on display at the Đà Nẵng Fine Arts Museum.

The exhibition, entitled Encoding Time, features portraits of royal families and their members, alongside depictions of everyday life and well-known Vietnamese patriots from the 19th and 20th centuries.

A painting of a Royal court in Việt Nam during the 19th-20th century. A collection of 30 portrait paintings of Việt Nam society in previous centuries has been on display in Đà Nẵng City.

It also depicts various topics in terms of culture, fashion, arts, traditional customs, portraits of the King, patriots, scholars, funeral bands, and a rural market day from previous centuries, Mỹ Dũng shared.

“I want to revive the ancient lifestyle of Việt Nam society in the last centuries by showing an old traditional culture and a series of activities in education, art performances and daily life of townships and rural area,” he said.

A portrait of Vietnamese scholar, Phan Chu Trinh (1872–1926), a prominent early 20th-century Vietnamese nationalist, reformer, and the earliest proponent of democracy in Việt Nam.

“I had collected typical art pieces that clearly feature the best views on the old living styles and the last feudal time in Việt Nam. It would help young generations and visitors to have a deeper look at the development process of Việt Nam over the past centuries,” he added.

He said old pieces of art from previous centuries have been easily revived and restored by digital technology and updated tools, and the exhibition also emphasised the contribution of technological applications and tools in maintaining old images from old generations.

A portrait of Hoàng Hoa Thám (1858-1913). He was known as Commander Thám , a Vietnamese feudal lord of Yên Thế and the leader of the Yên Thế Insurrection that held out against the French for 30 years.

Dũng, who started photography career in 1984, and a member of Việt Nam Photography Association and the Đà Nẵng Union of Literature and Arts Associations, had introduced his solo exhibitions in Việt Nam, Germany, France, Canada and the US in 2010-25.

Last month, his 40-photo collection of Việt Nam’s seas and islands was exhibited in Berlin, Germany.

Three Vietnamese women in old traditional fashions during the 19th and 20th centuries. The portrait painting has been on display at an exhibition, Encoding Time, in Đà Nẵng City.

In 2014, he himself debuted the Traffic Signs installation to raise awareness among commuters and visitors in Đà Nẵng City and at his own cafe in Sơn Trà Peninsula.

The Danangese freelancer had taken a huge photo collection of islands and sea as well as fishing communities over the past decades.

The exhibition will close on June 11. — VNS