Hao Nguyen: Blink And You Will Miss It
Artist Hao Nguyen
Words Tom Czibolya
“’Pick me. Choose me. Love me.’ I was watching a TikTok video of a girl out in the rain, hilariously shouting while twerking on the ground after quoting from the show, ‘Grey’s Anatomy’. I felt seen ever since” – there is something about Toronto-based photographer Hao Nguyen’s pictures and his approach toward visibility that trigger the imagination. With close-up intimacy, tenderness, and a sense of lighthearted playfulness, Hao’s photography is oriented around the colorful people he has encountered and bonded with.
Sometimes influenced by his own Chinese-Vietnamese roots, Hao’s work is greatly oriented around his fight for visibility and helping others express their identities the way they want to. He brings a sense of unity into diversity and this is probably why his advice to anyone struggling with living out their true self is so simple: “Start small. Move at your own pace. Reflect on your progress, on yourself.”
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