#windowmoth
moth1 / Sivaraj Pragasm, Vietnam-Singapore
#windowmoth is a collection of photographs taken from my room window, using a second-hand Canon T5i camera with a 50mm f1.8 lens, in a public housing estate deep in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam where I have been living for close to three years. It is quite possibly the world’s laziest photo series.
For a period of thirty days starting 12 January 2020, I kept a close eye on the goings-on right under my window. I was always used to hearing the loudspeakers affixed on the sidecars of vendors pedalling by selling the most random things, from sticky rice cakes, fresh fruits, truckloads of eggs (balanced precariously on a motorbike) to brooms, from six o’clock in the morning. In fact, a number of these shots were taken during the morning golden hour, with the sun still rising.
I specifically chose this time window because it would coincide with the preparations and celebrations of Tet, the Vietnamese lunar new year, where you would see a spectacular marriage of nationalism and tradition, evident in the multiple national flags that would usually be removed once the week-long public holidays end.
It was also my intention to have two contrasting moods for day and night, as this reflects the reality here too; it can get dead quiet during the witching hour.
One reason for this observational angle is because as a Southeast Asian myself living deep in a local public housing estate, I have felt relatively safe and welcome even though I clearly look foreign. My barely elementary level Vietnamese has not gotten me any further than ordering items strictly off the menu and giving directions to and away from my home. Even with all these differences, most of the vendors here already know what I want even before I actually give my order.
The other reason behind #windowmoth is that this sprawling and lively neighbourhood in Saigon today reminds me of my years growing up in Singapore in the late 1980s and early 1990s. In a way, I was simply trying to recapture my childhood. As an outsider, I was given a glimpse into how the locals live their lives and I noticed the glaring similarities. Borders, languages and physical attributes aside, I strongly feel that people share more similarities than differences with each other, which is what inspired me to create #windowmoth.
Just an outsider, looking at something familiar.
Note: Saigon and Ho Chi Minh City refer to the same city.
#windowmoth
The perspective starts here.
© moth1, Sivaraj Pragasm
The Saigon Tango
The soundtrack of the city is composed by the honks and revving of tens of millions of motorbikes, each weaving through and prancing about the city’s streets and neighbourhoods.
© moth1, Sivaraj Pragasm
Trái Cây Express
Vietnam produces its own food, and most farmers sell their items in little wagons like these, directly to the vendors that dot entire neighbourhoods.
© moth1, Sivaraj Pragasm
Elevation
Chung cu Nguyen Thien Thuat is a sprawling complex of public housing apartments in Saigon’s District 3. However, this area is actually more popularly known as ‘Guitar Street’, due to the exceptionally huge number of guitar shops down the street.
© moth1, Sivaraj Pragasm
Impending Fortune
A familiar sight across countries that celebrate the Lunar New Year. The Lion Dance in Vietnamese, also known as múa lân, or unicorn dance, is meant to summon and clear the way for the auspicious unicorn to bring good fortune for the new year.
© moth1, Sivaraj Pragasm
Little Runner
As the sun sets, the children come out to play. Most times, they are popular community games such as block-catching or badminton and during the festive period, they can go on all day (and night).
© moth1, Sivaraj Pragasm
moth1 is the alter-ego of Sivaraj Pragasm, a creative director and filmmaker based in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. A recipient of the Future Leader Scholarship at LASALLE College of the Arts, he went on to achieve a Bachelor of Arts in Film, with first class honours. Since then, he has made a career out of establishing his forte as a visual storyteller. With three short films under his name, and a feature film currently at its infancy, Sivaraj has kept himself busy by dividing his time as a creative director for his creative collective mothpeople and freewheeling projects like these under the moth1 name, which include photography, music and film-related work. Visit his website: http://mothpeople.net/