This artist based in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, carves various Buddhist images into pieces of bamboo that have been dried for months.

Nguyen Manh Cuong sketches the designs with a pencil first before using equipment to cut out the artwork.

He said: "I've been doing this sculpting work for almost two years now. First, I went to work for a company and then took a break, then I started my own business and encountered many problems. After that, I was introduced to this art by a friend, I learned and enjoyed it and have been attached to it until now.

"The difficulty is that I have to find a suitable bamboo eye, which requires a bamboo eye with 8 to 12 cm in diameter. Out of 500 pieces, only one or two standard bamboo eyes can be selected.

"The main tool is this hand saw, before I start shaping, I have to clean it with a broom. If the outer shell is still beautiful, I will keep it, and if there is a scratch, I have to smooth it out to retain the maximum beauty of the bamboo eye.

"Every time I finish a product, I am very excited, feeling full of health inside, like a person who has just finished exercising."

Art products in the eyes of bamboo sculpted by Mr. Nguyen Manh Cuong. The bamboo shoots are dried, boiled, steamed, and dried for 2 months.

After that, Mr. Cuong sketched the model to be sculpted, and it took nearly 5 hours to complete the work. The images he sculpted include animals, flowers, Buddha statues, etc.

Interview Mr. Nguyen Manh Cuong:

I've been doing this sculpting work for almost 2 years now. First, I went to work for a company and then took a break, then I started my own business and encountered many problems. After that, I was introduced to this art by a friend, I learned and enjoyed it and have been attached to it until now.

The difficulty is that I have to find a suitable bamboo eye, which requires a bamboo eye with 8 to 12cm in diameter. Out of 500 pieces, only 1 or 2 standard bamboo eyes can be selected.

The main tool is this hand saw, before I start shaping, I have to clean it with a broom. If the outer shell is still beautiful, I will keep it, and if there is a scratch, I have to smooth it out to retain the maximum beauty of the bamboo eye.

Every time I finish a product, I am very excited, feeling full of health inside, like a person who has just finished exercising.