Ha Huy Anh Pham
Daria Oprean
Pham:
"For what I think of "freedom", it's definitely a subjective and protean term. This is clearly demonstrated by the example of the difference between the (mostly democratic) governments of Europe and (mostly authoritarian) Vietnam. What you consider to be part of the freedom of living, like freedom of speech or freedom of the press, may not exist or be present to the same extent in our country. Still, we (northern Vietnamese) consider our living conditions to be quite free and unrestricted, in part due to the increased security and monitoring performed by the government. This reminds me of something Rousseau wrote in his book (not a quote, just remembering): you give up the instinctual freedom in order to achieve societal freedom. In other words, we're all suppressing our desires and instincts in exchange for the civility and society that we live in today, which increases our chances of survival and quality of life. Perhaps we all have to give up some freedom in order to achieve a higher form of freedom."
"For what I think of "freedom", it's definitely a subjective and protean term. This is clearly demonstrated by the example of the difference between the (mostly democratic) governments of Europe and (mostly authoritarian) Vietnam. What you consider to be part of the freedom of living, like freedom of speech or freedom of the press, may not exist or be present to the same extent in our country. Still, we (northern Vietnamese) consider our living conditions to be quite free and unrestricted, in part due to the increased security and monitoring performed by the government. This reminds me of something Rousseau wrote in his book (not a quote, just remembering): you give up the instinctual freedom in order to achieve societal freedom. In other words, we're all suppressing our desires and instincts in exchange for the civility and society that we live in today, which increases our chances of survival and quality of life. Perhaps we all have to give up some freedom in order to achieve a higher form of freedom."
Daria:
"As I have mentioned before, I m having a tougher time dealing with the world as it is today. Maybe because I'm going through a slight transitional period where I'm discovering what things I can change, and what things I have to accept as they are. However I still have to let part of my ego dissolve so I can stop being frustrated that I am small and can't change the world, and focus on the things I can influence for the better. So the idea of freedom stand somewhere in a blurry corner of the room that I can only see if I squint my eyes really close. Of course, I have the freedom of choice, of opportunity, and more so than others have. But the more I read and educate myself the less free I feel. We have a saying in Romania, that a stupid person will live 100 years happy. And I think it's true. We're being bombarded with information in every second of our lives, there's always a QR code somewhere to be scanned, or an ad that desperately wants you to sell something, telling you you are not whole without it. We live with the faint dreams of how our parents lives should have been like projected onto us. We live in a society which tells us that only hard work and labor can get you somewhere, that you need to shed your blood sweat and creativity to make something out of yourself. Where schools try to put you in a box to fit with their style, only to take credit for your work on the long run, talk about artistic freedom right? The chemicals in our food our designed to disrupt our genetics, the information online is designed to make us depressed and addicted, our relationships are disrupted by swipes and story replies, and our value calculated by money and likes. Give them bread and entertainment and they will go about their lives not questioning anything right? And yet, nobody educates us how to use and navigate this information wisely, how to keep ourselves sane and to keep our morality a priority.
So yes, it's hard for me to feel truly free, and I don't think that true freedom will be accomplished in this lifetime. I dream of going off grid when I'm 40, raising my chickens pigs and children, growing my crops away from any street lights and boulevards. But I know that's a dream, because you have to feed into the system in order to get somewhere. Like I told you before, the last time I felt free free, was in Vietnam when Google Maps could not fins my location. That kind of where I got the idea for this image as well. I was reminded I had it in my archive. I was walking on a bridge in Taipei when I came across this paper stuck, with the words "the world is not yours", and that gave me a small sense of freedom. The freedom that there are others who notice the things I notice, who won't give into the bullshit that their ego feeds on, and who realize they are in an ecosystem which they are part of. It gave me a sense of community, of strangers, of shared ideas. It was like a reality check saying that we do not own, we simply are. And I think that's where I find small hints. of freedom in order to keep myself going."
"As I have mentioned before, I m having a tougher time dealing with the world as it is today. Maybe because I'm going through a slight transitional period where I'm discovering what things I can change, and what things I have to accept as they are. However I still have to let part of my ego dissolve so I can stop being frustrated that I am small and can't change the world, and focus on the things I can influence for the better. So the idea of freedom stand somewhere in a blurry corner of the room that I can only see if I squint my eyes really close. Of course, I have the freedom of choice, of opportunity, and more so than others have. But the more I read and educate myself the less free I feel. We have a saying in Romania, that a stupid person will live 100 years happy. And I think it's true. We're being bombarded with information in every second of our lives, there's always a QR code somewhere to be scanned, or an ad that desperately wants you to sell something, telling you you are not whole without it. We live with the faint dreams of how our parents lives should have been like projected onto us. We live in a society which tells us that only hard work and labor can get you somewhere, that you need to shed your blood sweat and creativity to make something out of yourself. Where schools try to put you in a box to fit with their style, only to take credit for your work on the long run, talk about artistic freedom right? The chemicals in our food our designed to disrupt our genetics, the information online is designed to make us depressed and addicted, our relationships are disrupted by swipes and story replies, and our value calculated by money and likes. Give them bread and entertainment and they will go about their lives not questioning anything right? And yet, nobody educates us how to use and navigate this information wisely, how to keep ourselves sane and to keep our morality a priority.
So yes, it's hard for me to feel truly free, and I don't think that true freedom will be accomplished in this lifetime. I dream of going off grid when I'm 40, raising my chickens pigs and children, growing my crops away from any street lights and boulevards. But I know that's a dream, because you have to feed into the system in order to get somewhere. Like I told you before, the last time I felt free free, was in Vietnam when Google Maps could not fins my location. That kind of where I got the idea for this image as well. I was reminded I had it in my archive. I was walking on a bridge in Taipei when I came across this paper stuck, with the words "the world is not yours", and that gave me a small sense of freedom. The freedom that there are others who notice the things I notice, who won't give into the bullshit that their ego feeds on, and who realize they are in an ecosystem which they are part of. It gave me a sense of community, of strangers, of shared ideas. It was like a reality check saying that we do not own, we simply are. And I think that's where I find small hints. of freedom in order to keep myself going."
Ha Huy Anh Pham