17.01.1980

The title of Danh Vo’s 17.01.1980 refers to the date the photo was taken. Vo’s first passport photo shows him wearing a girl’s dress his family had been gifted by a Christian charity. Vo often uses family photographs for his photogravure projects, embedding his own family’s biography in a wider historical context. Following the 1975 fall of Saigon to North-Vietnamese forces, the new communist regime initiated reeducation programs and force relocations, which lead many Vietnamese citizens to leave the country. Vo’s family escaped on a self-built boat, which was intercepted by a Danish shipping freighter. The family was later granted refuge in Denmark.