Cari Vuong

How would you describe what you do?

I try to have a dialogue and conversation with people around me by creating images that share my emotional and personal views.  As such, I am a Photographer living and working in New York City.

What is your background?

I was born in Vietnam and grew up in Hong Kong.  I originally went to University to be a doctor but found that I had an intense passion for the visual arts.  Creating images was something much more true to my nature.

Who inspired you at the outset?

Edward Hopper most definitely.  There was something so powerful and incredibly beautiful about his vision of the world, and the landscapes he painted that took my breath away.  I found all his work to have a resounding sense of hope, and vitality.  It's as if he were saying that anything and everything was possible.  I had such a visceral reaction to what he did that I could actually feel the warmth of the sun rays, hear the cities, and smell the oceans in his paintings.

Who, or what, inspires you now?

My 2 year old son is a huge influence on me.  Even if he has seen or heard something for the hundredth time, he still finds excitement in it, and takes something new from the experience.  He has taught me to slow things down in creating my own art and to explore certain angles, whether they be mental or emotional, and reincorporate them into my process.

I am also very moved by Terrence Malick these days as well as by Richard Misrach.

What was the last useful thing you learnt?

The art of not saying or doing anything when waiting for something to happen, especially when taking a picture. 

What are you working on right now?

Completing a final edit of a collection of American Landscapes which I have been working on for five years.