má và con

Photo Book Photographed and Designed by Vanessa Le

má và con is a Vietnamese saying that directly translates to “mommy and me.” This work of series is dedicated to my lovely and beautiful mom. She’s the best friend I’ve always had, and she’s the main reason I am who I am today. Thus, má và con serves as a reminder for me to remember where I’ve come from. The work consists of a direct comparison between photographs of my mom dating back to the 1980s and my own self-portraits taken in 2020 that emulate them. With the general design of the work, imagine modern meets 80s magazines. This work presents images of our young selves as a way to highlight similarities and differences in our physical appearances— as mother and daughter. As both of these photos are featured alongside one another, there is a play on determining which photos are “old” photos and which are “new” photos due to the similarities in the emulation present.