Nicolas Lainez

Nicolas Lainez was born in 1975 in Barcelona, Spain. After graduating from Film Studies at the University of Montpellier III, he completed his photography training with internships at Magnum Photos, Agence Vu, Rapho and AFP. In collaboration with international aid organizations, he produced a social photography project dealing with human trafficking, commercial sex and aids in Asia. His work has been widely presented in America, Europe, and Asia through exhibitions, publications and books. In 2004, he resumed studies and obtained a Master on Development Studies (University of Paris I-Sorbonne) and a Master on Social Anthropology (School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences-Ehess). Currently he is PhD candidate at the Ehess, Research Associate at the Research Institute on Contemporary Southeast Asia (Irasec, Bangkok), and Visiting Affiliate at the Asia Research Institute (Nus, Singapore).

Unveiling the invisible.

Representing transitioning urban space in Vietnam.

Nicolas Lainez | 28.06.2012

This interdisciplinary work examines urban transition in contemporary Vietnam. It focuses on Thu Thiêm, a seemingly ordinary and under-populated neighborhood located across the commercial and tourist center of Ho Chi Minh City. Thu Thiêm has been slated to become the financial center of the southern metropolis, a business district envisioned along the lines of Pudong in Shanghai or the Central Business District in Singapore. In contrast to the gleaming and prosperous images of skyscrapers and modernity [...]