Photographer focuses on traditional puppetry

Nguyen Hong Nga will hold a three-day exhibition of her photographer featuring traditional water puppetry in HCM City starting on Nov. 2.
Mua Roi Nuoc Truyen Thong (Traditional Water Puppetry), to be held at the Institute for Culture Exchange with France (IDECAF), will have on display 50 photos Nga had taken over the years.
They feature the most popular works like Mua Rong (Dragon Dance), Mua Phuong (Phoenix Dance), Mua Tien (Fairies' Dance) and Truyen Thuyet Le Loi Tra Guom (Legend on Returned Sword Lake).
Water puppetry, in which wooden puppets are manipulated over water, originated in the Hong (Red) River region in the 11th century when it was performed at festivals to pray for a good crop.
It is usually in the form of a skit depicting daily life in rural Vietnam, folk tales, legends, or history.
The art form is a unique variation on the ancient Asian puppet tradition.
Nga, who was born in 1956 in Quang Tri Province, is a member of International Federation of Photographic Art and a member of the Vietnam Journalists Association, Vietnam Photographers Association, and Vietnam Theatre Artists' Association.
She won a B prize of the Vietnam Photographers Association's Best Photo for her Buc Tranh Que Ngoai (Picture of Mother's Hometown) in 1995 and the 2009 PSA Portrait Competition Awards in the US for Thieu Nu Mong (A Mong Girl).
Nga has held exhibitions in Hong Kong, the US, Canada, and France and published photo books like Suc Song Vietnam (Vietnam's Vitality) 1 and 2.
The exhibition venue is at 31 Thai Van Lung, District 1.