The exhibition opened on May 30 at the Institute of Cultural Exchange with France (IDECAF), showcasing 32 selected works from Cornet’s project of the same name, created between 2015 and 2018.

Rather than simply documenting architecture, the series explores the intricate relationships between people and sacred spaces, between spiritual practices and everyday life, and between communities and layers of architecture shaped by time.

Over the course of three years, Cornet traveled to dozens of pagodas, temples and shrines across Vietnam with the aim of preserving their original appearance before restoration projects, reconstruction and urban development altered their identity.

At the opening ceremony, the French photographer said he has been connected to Vietnam for nearly four decades and considers the country his second home. That personal bond, he noted, led him to view Vietnamese pagodas not merely as architectural works, but as living spaces where faith, memory and community life coexist.

Cornet also highlighted differences in heritage preservation between Europe and Vietnam, where many religious sites continue adapting to social changes and urban expansion. In that sense, the collection serves as a visual record of a transitional period in Vietnam’s cultural landscape.

Curator Vu Khoi Nguyen echoed this perspective, saying that “Vietnamese Pagodas” does more than preserve images of physical places, it captures the presence of people and the overlapping layers of history embedded within the same space.

The exhibition is drawn from Cornet’s book of the same title, first published in 2018 after his journey through more than 30 pagodas and hundreds of documentary photographs. The publication has now been reissued in bilingual Vietnamese-English and Vietnamese-French editions, helping bring stories of Vietnamese pagodas to wider audiences.

At a time when many of the pagodas featured in the photographs have already changed, Nicolas Cornet’s work carries not only artistic value but also serves as a visual memory of Vietnam’s evolving spiritual and cultural spaces in the process of modernisation.

Lyon-HCM City photo exhibition marks 53 years of Vietnam-France ties

VOV.VN - A photo exhibition highlighting everyday life in Lyon and Ho Chi Minh City will open on April 22, marking the 53rd anniversary of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and France.