“How does a group of dedicated, patriotic Vietnam War veterans, get cast aside? Why is it so important for these men to be recognized by the US military? How does a group of men get erased from the Vietnam War history? What drives a person to want recognition so much that they have to insert themselves into its history?” Motivated by these enquiries, Laotian-American artist, Pao Houa Her reached out to these ex-soldiers and over a period of three years, captured these Hmong-American veterans using tropes from 19th century General paintings, Civil War soldier portraits and official presidential portraits against the backdrop of a collapsible photography studio. The makeshift impression of the collapsible studio becomes evident after closer study of the portraits; there are inconsistencies in the framing of the sitters; the tasselled fringe of a curtain backdrop curves or cuts out of the frame in odd angles; the two-toned hem of another curtain backdrop is left un-cropped from the photo. These peculiarities would sit incongruous within ‘official’, stately portrait photography except these models do not seem to portray characteristics of stateliness. With ill-fitting uniforms and inconsistencies in the arrangement of their attire, these portraits could appear amateur, however they are anything but. Pao Houa Her’s sensitivity toward each individual is noteworthy. She manages to honestly capture the raw and crude quality of these veterans who, though ordinary and unremarkable in appearance, carry within them the weight of a history of unacknowledged or untold.
