ARTIST STATEMENT: 

Filial lineage, the Vietnamese diaspora and Asian gang culture are the large central themes within this body of work – what it looks like, and how it is changing now that cannabis is legal. One of the ways this is represented is by using forests and tunnels as an ideological backdrop that existed in the Vietnam war. In the war, the Vietcong were known to hide their infantry in the jungle. Armed with this historical context, images of Vietnamese women and men growing cannabis are juxtaposed with forests from the interior of British Columbia. With the very same tools and skill set, the Vietnamese now reside inside new forests and create complex subterranean tunnels and elaborate greenhouses for the pursuit of income. It is my hope that these photographs reveal a culture of hiding.

“we were growers” is an ongoing project by Danny Luong. The aim of this project has been to visit and photograph Vietnamese cannabis farms funded and created by my extended family that exist in a ‘grey area’ within the law inside interior BC.

ARTIST BIOGRAPHY:

Danny Luong is an emerging photographer born and based in Calgary, Alberta. Luong holds a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from Mount Royal University and works to represent landed East-Asian migrants and refugees through personal documentary.

Luong has shown work with Exposure Photo Festival, Art Toronto, Asian Heritage Foundation Calgary and is part of the Exposure Studio Collective. Luong self-published his first photobook (departing…) in 2020.

Luong is interested in ancestral lineages and the effects of history on generations of migrants. With an emphasis on duality, Luong’s graphic style recalls both snapshots and gritty photojournalism from a mix of medium format, 35mm, and digital stills. Luong’s subjects emphasize the tribulations of generations, shared cultural values and the effects of displacement on first and second-generation Canadian lives, and the intergenerational trauma carried by uninvited guests on this land.

TCSTV Live: We Were Growers interview with Danny Luong
Instagram: @dny.lu