Sculptor

Visitors to Hoi An Ancient Town, whether they buy anything or not, are impressed by the bamboo root stalls, which stand out with their Buddha and Christ statues made from bamboo roots. The smiling Buddha statues seem to beckon visitors to the small stalls. The artisans have created many beautiful and intricately detailed figures from bamboo roots, making them particularly appealing to tourists, especially foreign visitors, who often buy these unique products as gifts for their loved ones.

Join author Duong Cong Son on a journey to Hoi An to experience the unique craft of carving statues from bamboo roots, through the skillful hands and creative minds of local artisans, in his photo series "The Craft of Statue Carving." This series was submitted by the author to the Happy Vietnam Photo and Video Contest, organized by the Ministry of Information and Communications .

Unlike carving statues from readily available pieces of wood, carving statues from bamboo roots requires more creativity. This is because each bamboo root has many different shapes, with root systems of varying lengths.

Completing a handcrafted bamboo sculpture is a complex and elaborate process. Sculptors must source mature bamboo roots from various locations; those found in loamy and clay soils have sturdy roots with short stems, while those found in sandy soil have long, thorny roots. After being dug up, the bamboo roots are separated, shaped, and soaked in mud for nine months. They are then removed, cleaned, and sun-dried for about 10 days to make them harder and resistant to termites.

Sculptors who carve statues from bamboo roots need a keen eye to envision shapes that suit each root, as no two roots are alike. Therefore, the number of bamboo root sculptures is always diverse in shape and size.

The products are unique and impressive, retaining the most natural and soulful features of the original... He cleverly utilizes the roots of the bamboo stalk to carve the beards on the faces of the statues.

From rough, dry bamboo roots, sculptors in Hoi An City, Quang Nam province, have "magically" transformed them into unique and impressive products that attract tourists from near and far.

On average, he takes 2 hours to complete each bamboo pole (depending on the difficulty), but some elaborate pieces take him more than a month to finish.

Every day, tourists and customers from many places come to admire and inquire about buying these unique statues. As a result, souvenirs made from bamboo roots and stems by local artisans travel with tourists to many places both domestically and internationally.

Vietnam.vn