Rising Stars: Meet Linh Tang

Today we’d like to introduce you to Linh Tang.

Linh, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
We have a saying; “nghề chọn người chứ người không chọn nghề” – I’d like to think this is how Photography started for me.

Admittedly, I didn’t know what I was doing in College, majoring in something that to this day I still can’t define what it is. I took an Intro to Photography class as an elective and was intrigued by the image-making process, which in my perspective is very familiar to process of drawing. It may seem cheesy to say that everything in my life clicked (pun intended), my passion in creating, my life experiences, my purpose for expressing. From here I made a swift decision to follow down the path of a Photographer.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Nothing worthwhile is easy, but my impression of the journey was never a negative one, as I went through it passion and adrenaline. Needless it takes more than just talent and love for art to become a Photographer or an artist.

I should mention that it took me the first 2 years to finally commit to the career, there tons of limitations in resources, knowledge, and confidence. You see, I wasn’t exposed to the subject or industry before this, I basically ventured into the unknown. As I started Photography without any proper education of Lighting, so the photos I made are over or underexposed, flat and unflattering, and I had to spend a ton more time on retouching. I didn’t know how to conduct business with a client so most of the time I get taken advantage of, I would spend more than 40 hours on a project, for free, before taking on additional demands. I didn’t even have a camera during this time, so I had to borrow from friends, using only the standard lens. Not to mention draining my physical and mental health along the way, jumping rope between criticizing myself very badly, then lying to myself to keep going. Everything about the job was a struggle to me, but they didn’t feel this way because I was excited to learn, excited to create. I knew that if not this, I don’t want to do anything else, it has to be this. That drove me.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
My childhood shapes me as an artist. My work and aesthetic interest revolve around Fashion when I was a child I used to draw fictional characters and designed clothes on them. I read a lot of manga, which’s design was very fashion driven, their posters are usually very dramatic in pose and expressive, featuring couture or very extravagant clothing items with lots of accessories. The characters appear like models, the float on air or they are gravitated, serving a lot of energy, and they are surrounded by a seemingly magical environment. I used to study them closely so that I could learn to draw, it’s safe to say that my Fashion photographic style is inspired by these memories.

I’m a full-blown city girl, grew up in Ho Chi Minh so I’m comfortable with the chaos of the city and of my family. So many things are always happening at the same time, I draw so I learned to be observant of the lives at my surrounding, listening to the adult conversations, and start noticing the social construct, as well as the individuality, behind these lives. When I am involved in Fashion, I think about its role and influence on the people social construct as well. To me, Fashion is like a double-edged knife where you use it to gain yourself benefit but also hurting yourself from it. I try to think about this when I’m photographing, as I am visualizing an image of Fashion to others.

Thus, what Photography fundamentally means to me is a medium to express and materialize my thoughts, and then to be judged, critique upon. Like a third eye, or like a mirror to reflect on reality, a memory, a fantasy, an impulse. It’s a tool for me to understand myself and others as if to slow down time to assess the situation that has been photographed. I am a quiet kid to most people, personally I open up to only a handful of people whom I trust and who trusted me (if you’re reading this you know who you are, and I appreciate you), I’d like to think of my photographs as an invitation for the rest of the crowd to get to know me if they would like to.

At this present, I am proud to be working alongside with like-minded artists: Yoko Chou, Abhinay Pandit; Ravin Goyal; Yi Hong; Manh Nguyen; and many more. I am blessed to have a supportive & visionary mother who has been pushing my potential, shout-out to this talented woman!

Do you have any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
It is hard to pick one, I enjoyed a lot of little things like hanging out with my mom, sneaking pencil and paper under the pillow so I could draw when everyone is asleep, diving to the bottom of the pool and imagine those who swim above me are flying, going to karate practices. If I had to pick one experience would be those times when home alone as a child, or when I “explore” my elementary school by myself during everyone’s nap time. Now I realized that at these moments I was experiencing the liminal space, the space of transition, waiting. The environment that is usually filled with movement and energy, is at a pause state before it’s filled with energy again. It was so calm and peaceful, yet very mysterious and exciting to me. Talking about it now, I think photography acts as a liminal space for me, as it preserves a state of moving reality to live in, before moving on. I think I need a good combination of peace and chaos in my life.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.linhtang.info
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chaos.bebe/
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/contactlinh 

Image Credits
Models: Amalia Watty; Siddhesh Pandey, Abhinay Pandit; Naj; Nick Nguyen; Elkin MacLeod; Winnie Wang; Brianna Jones: Lingbin Qiu; Aaron Ratnayeke MUA collaborated: Elkin MacLeod Stylist collaborates: Manh Nguyen Photo – Light – Tech Assistants: Yoko Chou; Abhinay Pandit; Ravin Goyal; Yi Hong Photographer for profile photo: Vaishnavi Patil