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M
aika Elan spent 18 months
in Ho Chi Minh City and
Hanoi taking photos of ho-
mosexual couples. Her aim
was to document love between same
sex partners so that others could gain a
better, more realistic understanding of
it. “I had to work hard to convince cou-
ples to give me access to their homes,”
Maika says. “Once they agreed, I stayed
with them for hours, until they forgot
about me and lived their normal daily
life – then I took my photos.”
“It was a beautiful Sunday morn-
ing when Maika first came over,” re-
calls Yen, one of Maika’s subjects. “She
stayed at our apartment and kept telling
us to imagine that she wasn’t there.”
Yen is a lesbian who lives with her
girlfriend, Huong, in Ho Chi Minh City.
Yen finally came out after ten years of
hiding her sexuality – years she now
describes as a time of struggle, confu-
sion and worry. So, when she heard
about Maika’s project she was very en-
thusiastic to take part: “I decided to join
because I think a love like ours is not a
weird or bad thing and there is no need
to hide it,” says Yen.
In a further attempt to open minds
to homosexuality, Yen and Huong
launched a clip on the asianlabrys.com
website. In it, they talk of their hope of
being recognised as family members,
not simply as roommates. “Society’s rec-
ognition will make our life more stable
and happy,” Yen says.
44
timeout
pink choice
ArtistMaikaElan’s(NguyenThanhHai)latestwork,ThePinkChoice,tookonthesubjectofhomosexualityin
Vietnam,wherebeinggayisstillwidelyseenasabnormal.Theimpactof thework,bothonthosewhosawit
and those who were involved, has been considerable. Words by Hong Nhung
I decided to join
because I think
a love like ours is not a
weird or bad thing and
there is no need to hide it