‘The first rain has come, like a maestro, conducting life to a faster, rather drastic pace. Some embraced it, others frowned. Beyond our perception, the rain poured down like it had been doing since the beginning of time. It left me more observant, and as natural as it was, I kept on shooting for a handful of wet seasons in the city. But on one particular afternoon, something dawned on me, I chose another approach with my photography. Like a boy years before, soaked in youthful summer rain, I patched up all the memories I had, all the laughs I shared with my old friends, not until then did I realize how much I love the rain. - Nguyễn Ngọc Hải.
(Sài Gòn/ Việt Nam, 2016-2017)
Nguyễn Ngọc Hải (b.1995), known artistically as Hải O, is a Vietnamese photographer whose work primarily focuses on visual documentary photography. Hai O is the founder of LADI record, a project dedicated to publishing a series of periodicals focused on documentary photography that explores life in Vietnam and neighboring regions. In 2017, Hai O was a participant of Angkor Photo Workshops, instructed by Sim ChiYin and Ian Teh.