Created with love and pride for Vietnam.
As a talented and hardworking young man living and working in Hiroshima Prefecture (Japan), Hoang Van Vinh, a native of Nghe An province, is determined to overcome difficulties to pursue his passion for art. Through art, Vinh expresses his patriotism and national pride in a very unique way.
As a talented and hardworking young man living and working in Hiroshima Prefecture (Japan), Hoang Van Vinh, a native of Nghe An province, is determined to overcome difficulties to pursue his passion for art. Through art, Vinh expresses his patriotism and national pride in a very unique way.
As a Vietnamese person!
Although the national mourning period for General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong has ended, in recent days, information and content related to the late General Secretary have remained a topic of great interest and sharing among the people. Among these are clips depicting portraits of President Ho Chi Minh and...General Secretary Nguyen Phu TrongUsing both hands for four consecutive hours, 23-year-old Hoang Van Vinh from Dien Chau district performed the feat. Below the video, netizens not only expressed their emotion and respect for these two great figures of the Vietnamese nation, but also their admiration for Hoang Van Vinh's talent and dedication.
This is not the only work by Vững vẽ on this subject.
A quick glance at Vững's TikTok account, with nearly 400,000 followers and 12.2 million likes, reveals that national leaders and heroes are the main themes this young man loves and focuses on. With his artistic and creative abilities, this seemingly dry subject is approached in a fresh and inspiring way.
One of Vững's most beloved works is his "light sculpture" portraits of President Ho Chi Minh and Vo Thi Sau. Using cardboard cut from instant noodle boxes, the young man from Nghe An cuts it into small pieces according to his design, arranging them on a flat surface. When light shines on one side of the completed artwork, the shadows on the wall behind it form the portraits.Uncle Howith a map of Vietnam. Turned to a different angle, the cardboard pieces form the face of Vo Thi Sau.
Also using light, another portrait of President Ho Chi Minh was created by shining lights from above. The shadows of thin pieces of paper, positioned perpendicular to the background, fell in dark areas, skillfully creating a unique and unexpected portrait. The cut-out spaces were sometimes filled with a clear sky, sometimes placed against a backdrop of lush green trees, and sometimes even on the chest of a shirt… Vung took this paper-cut portrait of Uncle Ho to many places in Japan.
Among the figures inspiring to Vững are Emperor Quang Trung, General Võ Nguyên Giáp, and Võ Thị Sáu… Along with the stirring musical effect, songs praising the homeland and country, Hoàng Văn Vững's works have touched the patriotic hearts of Vietnamese citizens. In the comments section, many accounts wrote: “So moving, I got goosebumps watching this clip”; “Proud to be Vietnamese!”; “Uncle Ho is always in our hearts”; “Thank you for creating these works, grateful to the national heroes”…
Sharing his inspiration for his creative work from historical figures, Hoang Van Vinh confided: “As a Vietnamese person, I am proud of my country's history, of our national heroes, and I want to share this with the world. Living far from home, I choose to express that love and pride in a way that best suits my circumstances, strengths, and abilities.”
Vững's way of expressing himself is not simply to motivate himself, to show admiration, or to emulate historical figures. Below all his posts related to Vietnam, Vững always includes the hashtag #HoangSa,Truong Sa belong to Vietnam (in English or Vietnamese) as an affirmation and reminder to everyone.
The journey of pursuing art
In the videos he uploads, Vững often films both the entire process and the final result of his work. Because of this, viewers can easily visualize and feel the dedication, difficulties, anxieties, perfectionism, and meticulousness that Vững puts into each of his creative projects. But that's only a small part of the artistic journey that this young man from Phủ Diễn has undertaken…
When mentioning Vững, relatives, teachers, and friends are all deeply impressed by his innate artistic talent from a young age. Seeing his talent, and encouraged by everyone, Vững's parents also intended for him to pursue an artistic career. However, the family's economic circumstances prevented this from becoming a reality. Although he didn't attend any formal art school, his passion was ingrained in him, so Vững maintained the habit of self-learning to draw and posting his work on online art communities. Unexpectedly, Vững's paintings became popular, giving him his first opportunity to earn money: taking on online portrait painting jobs to supplement his income.
“I have three brothers, and my two older brothers are also working abroad in Japan. During my high school years, partly due to difficult circumstances and lack of resources, and partly due to a lack of confidence in my own abilities, I didn't take the university entrance exam but instead enlisted in the military. Unfortunately, a rib defect made me ineligible for military service, so I decided to go to Japan with my brothers. But unlike my two brothers, I don't just want to work and earn money; I want the money I earn to help me study and continue pursuing my artistic path,” Vững shared.
While studying the language and waiting for job orders, the Covid-19 pandemic broke out, and Vững received additional orders for mural painting to make ends meet. Besides painting, this young man also explored and experimented with many other creative ways of expressing himself through art… Beyond painting, Vững also taught himself to play several common musical instruments proficiently.
Confiding, Vững shared: “Although I didn't receive formal training and only draw instinctively, I'm quite good at memorizing and reproducing images. I follow many artists online and learn from their methods to express my ideas. Techniques like paper cutting, light shaping, and drawing with both hands at once… are all skills that require a lot of time and determination to master. With wall paintings, you can't erase them, so you have to be extremely careful. While painting takes many hours to complete, light sculptures can take days with many repetitions, meticulously working on each detail. Without patience, it will be ruined.”
Despite her passion, Vững also went through periods where she threw herself into work and making money, forgetting the path she should be on. “In Japan, for the first year, I took on so many jobs and worked from morning till night every day. I worked so much that I had no time to rest, study the language, and my body was constantly tense. It wasn't until the Japanese government reprimanded me for exceeding the permitted working hours and only granted me a 4-month visa that I realized my mistake. At that point, I looked back, decided to work less, and dedicate time to my passion and serious studies. My hair salon and my TikTok and YouTube channels were born from that…,” Vững confided.
With skillful hands, a keen eye for aesthetics, and a meticulous personality with a love for beauty, after two years of studying Japanese, Vững enrolled in a two-year service industry program and a one-year hairdressing program. Although not yet graduated, Vững's hair salon at her rented accommodation has become very popular in Japan, trusted by many international clients. Her series of videos showcasing her hairdressing work has received very high praise.
Sharing more about his future plans, the gentle, bookish-looking young man, Hoang Van Vinh, said: "I will continue to pursue this path."artWith the perspective of not confining creativity and continuously honing skills to establish one's own brand - the brand of "a Vietnamese person".
