The lockdowns and restrictions of the Covid crisis presented a challenge and an opportunity to photographers around the world, with many using the time to explore new ideas and set off in novel directions. For Réhahn, a French photographer originally from Bayeux in Normandy, who’s lived in the coastal city of Hội An in Vietnam for more than 12 years, it was a chance to take a deep dive into the work of impressionist and post-impressionist painters, which inspired his Impressionist Photography project – images of people and places created using techniques such as photographing through the heat from fires or capturing reflections in water.
It’s a significant break from the colourful portraits he’s known for. For the last decade, Réhahn has been photographing all 54 of Vietnam’s ethnic groups for his Precious Heritage Project, as well as taking portraits in Cuba, India, Malaysia and elsewhere. He also owns galleries in Hội An and Saigon, which showcase his photos of Vietnam’s tribes, alongside traditional clothing and artefacts.
This April it will be the 150th anniversary of the influential and controversial Exhibition of the Impressionists, featuring Claude Monet’s Impression, Sunrise, which took place in Paris in April 1874 and gave the movement its name.