The photobook takes us on a journey through a Hanoi of a neon-lit haze, crisp shadows, and illuminated windows punctuating the night sky.

Every Wednesday night around 10:43 p.m., when “the stars of work, family, and personal time align”, Wouter Vanhees looks for the answer by taking nocturnal scooter trips to different neighborhoods in the city, carrying his camera as an armor. He has been documenting Hanoi’s large-scale estates with apartment complexes and luxurious villas catering to its burgeoning middle class, some already inhabited, some unfinished, laying bare the scaffold.

Wouter Vanhees (1978) is a Belgian photographer based in Hanoi since 2015. He practices street and documentary photography, as living in Hanoi sparked an interest in the rapid rate of urbanization of Vietnamese cities and the social implications this creates.

Wouter’s work has been featured at OpenWalls Arles 2020, Angkor Photo Festival and Workshops, The Washington Post, VICE Asia, and Urbanautica, among others.

Format: Hardcover
Publisher: Matca in partnership with Lao Dong Publishing House
Publication Year: 2020
Pages: 144
Size: 16 x 21.5 cm
Language: English and Vietnamese