Lan Nguyễn (she/her), is a Vietnamese-Australian photographer, artist and model based in Eora. Lan works exclusively with film and polaroid photography to create portraiture.
How did you start taking photos? Do you have any other artistic outlets?
I started taking photos after modelling for my first nude shoot in 2018. I was so intrigued with the agency that these images gave me even though I was in my most vulnerable state. I wanted to recreate this feeling for others from behind the lens and explore how the nude body can disarm the audience’s gaze.
Dancing has also helped me abundantly in this process of exploring forms of the body. Understanding my own body means I can better understand the body of my models and provide better directions for them. Doing aerial dancing (lyra and hammock) and pole has helped me so much in terms of appreciating my body and becoming more intentional with my movement.
What made you go down the path of using polaroids?
I think because I started with 35mm film I just naturally gravitated towards polaroids since they’re both analogue mediums. The tactility of polaroids is especially what drew me towards them because when you’re shooting with film, there’s no way of knowing how the photos will turn out until a week later when you get the film developed. So having something physical during a shoot gives confidence to me as the photographer and reassures the model as well. It just makes the chemistry of the shoot so much smoother!
Additionally, the colours produced by a polaroid film are unmatched – even the imperfections from light leaks are something I treasure as you will never be able to get this spontaneity from digital photography.
Do you have an emotional connection to your photographs?
Of course! Analogue photography always elicits an emotional response in me because its qualities remind me of flipping through old family albums with my grandfather whenever I would come to visit him. He’s the photo keeper in our family – every photo is immaculately kept in an album or laminated. Even nowadays as everything goes digital, he still prints out photos of me and my cousins to put on his walls. The colour and graininess of the film remind me of photos of my mom in high school, of my grandmother holding me as a baby, of my sister when she was a teenager. Analogue photography is a way I can recreate these nostalgic memories within my own context.
What would you like to see more of in the Naarm art scene?
I would like to see collaborations between artists across different mediums! Recently I saw this collaboration between photographer Nass Nix and painter Soap Fox where the two incorporated photography and oil painting to portray Soap as an ethereal fawn creature (half-human, half-goat). The oil paint on top of the photograph added such dynamic texture and a sense of tactility to the piece that simply cannot be done on digital media. I would love to see more collabs like this across the Naarm and Eora art scene – whether it’s photography, fine arts, textiles, ceramics, dance etc.! It would be so fun to skill swap across all these different artistic outlets.
Where can the audience see more of your work?
You can see my body of work @lannguyen.film on Instagram! Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me for collabs or if you would like to model <3
What is next for you?
This year I want to be better at promoting my work by being more consistent on social media, applying for more group exhibitions and getting my work published in more local magazines!
When Demure reached out to me for this interview I was so excited as I have been following your publication for a while now and it is such an honour for me to contribute to your zine! Thank you for allowing me to showcase my work on your platform!!
I would also like to debut my first performance in either aerial or pole this year. This is something I have been working towards and it would be so validating to be able to perform in front of an audience.
