Elska Ho Chi Minh City, the fifty- seventh book in the Elska series, a project about showcasing diverse LGBTQ+ communities around the world, is out now. This latest issue is a queer journey into Ho Chi Minh City — also known as Saigon — presenting the city through honest photography and personal storytelling based on encounters with some of its local men.
“After publishing twelve issues made in Asia so far, I’m almost shocked that it’s taken this long to finally hit Vietnam,“ says Elska editor and chief photographer Liam Campbell. “I’m beyond glad to have finally made it though, and I’m glad I chose to focus the issue on Saigon. This is a city of contradictions — electric and intimate, relentlessly busy and yet somehow unhurried, modern and deeply traditional — and that tension runs through every chapter of this issue. Some of the most open men we’ve ever encountered in eleven years of the Elska project are here right alongside some of the most nervous and shy guys.”
„There are a few things that make this issue particularly special,“ continues Liam. “In terms of the storytelling, there are some very candid and illuminating pieces… like Harry, who speaks openly about his HIV-positive status and how it’s triggered a string of positive changes in his life; or like Jesse, whose exceptional confidence plays against a yearning to find love and finally lose his virginity; or like Tin, who offers a plethora of wisdom that seems to pin down what Vietnamese communism is supposed to be all about. And in terms of the photography, symbols of Saigon abound — the coffee shops, the monsoon rains, the mopeds, the humidity, and of course the nude portraits of Saigonese men… Everything comes together in a way that makes me kick myself for having not come to Vietnam sooner.“
Inside Elska Ho Chi Minh City, readers are introduced to seven men who the Elska team met on their journey. Each has their own chapter containing a photoshoot of them in their city streets and in their homes, dressed in their own style as well as undressed. Their chapters also include a story, allowing readers to get to know them at an even deeper level. The result is a most authentic and revealing showcase of ordinary gay men in this exciting corner of the world.
Elska Ho Chi Minh City is available in a collectible print book or in a downloadable e-book. In addition, the companion e-zine Ekstra Ho Chi Minh City is available, containing hundreds of outtake images and assorted behind the scenes tales. And while supplies last, a collection of eleven A5 frameable, postcard-style prints of the team’s favourite Saigon images, titled ‚Postcard Set 57‘ is out now. All are available for order online as well as from a select group of shops around the world. Ordering information and details of the subscription service can be found on the Elska website: www.elskamagazine.com
