The Vietnamese Cave (selfpublishing, edition 2026)

In 2022, the darkness of a cave in the Israeli desert surrendered the body of a young man who had vanished in 2016. It was Nguyen Hai Binh, a Vietnamese student whose tracks had been lost, ending up for indecipherable reasons in the mineral heart of a land not his own. Who was Binh? What was he seeking in the silence of the desert? And above all, how did he meet his end in a place where light never reaches?
Deeply moved by this story but unable to reach Israel due to the ongoing war, speleologist and photographer Mario Capriotti decided to venture into that darkness anyway—not just the physical void, but the metaphorical one. By consulting every available source and launching a meticulous recovery of amateur images, documents, and visual fragments, Capriotti attempts to reassemble the mosaic of a shattered life.
His work does not stop at documenting a little-known news story; it transforms Binh’s journey into a reflective device. On one hand, The Vietnamese Cave seeks to give a face and dignity to a "lost" boy, connecting the dots of an existence that left behind very few traces. On the other, it becomes a projection of Capriotti’s inner dialogue with the concept of darkness as the boundary between life and the unknown. The mystery of Nguyen Hai Binh’s death merges with the ancestral attraction humans feel toward the abyss, turning the cave that swallowed him into the starting point for a reflection on solitude, death, and the persistence of memory.
Description Italian Version:
Nel 2022, l’oscurità di una grotta nel deserto israeliano restituisce il corpo di un giovane uomo scomparso nel 2016. È Nguyen Hai Binh, uno studente vietnamita di cui si erano perse le tracce, finito per ragioni indecifrabili nel cuore minerale di una terra non sua. Chi era Binh? Cosa cercava nel silenzio del deserto? E soprattutto, come ha incontrato la fine in un luogo dove la luce non arriva mai?
Profondamente colpito da questa vicenda ma impossibilitato a raggiungere Israele a causa della guerra in corso, lo speleologo e fotografo Mario Capriotti decide ugualmente di avventurarsi in quel buio, non solo fisico ma metaforico. Consultando tutte le fonti a sua disposizione e avviando una meticolosa operazione di recupero di immagini amatoriali, documenti e frammenti visivi, Capriotti prova a ricomporre il mosaico di una vita spezzata.
Il suo lavoro non si limita a documentare un caso di cronaca poco conosciuto, ma trasforma la vicenda di Binh in un dispositivo riflettente. Da un lato, infatti, The Vietnamese Cave tenta di dare un volto e una dignità a un ragazzo "perduto", unendo i puntini di un’esistenza di cui sono reperibili pochissime tracce. Dall’altro, diventa la proiezione del dialogo interiore di Capriotti con il concetto di oscurità come confine tra la vita e l'ignoto. Il mistero della fine di Nguyen Hai Binh si fonde con l'attrazione ancestrale che l'uomo prova per l'abisso, rendendo la grotta che lo ha inghiottito il punto di partenza per una riflessione sulla solitudine, sulla morte e sulla persistenza del ricordo.


THE VIETNAMESE CAVE
BY MARIO CAPRIOTTI
Book Project: Irene Alison
Book Design: Alessandra Pasquarelli
Printed in Italy by A.G. Pasquarelli, in 2026
Edition of 50 copies
Self-Publishing

Technical Specifications
Cover
Ring binder with elastic closure
Closed format: 22 × 31 cm
Exterior covering printed in two colours, combining digital and screen-printing
techniques
Elastic band fastening
Interior Cover Lining
140 gsm Tintoretto Gesso paper (Fedrigoni)
Four-colour HP Indigo digital printing
Interior
Closed format: 19 × 28 cm
HP Indigo digital printing
Contents
64 pages (32 sheets) on 140 gsm Tintoretto Gesso paper (Fedrigoni)
7 colour-printed sheets on 100 gsm Cromatico Digital Transparent paper
14 pages on Shiro Echo recycled uncoated paper (Favini)
13 photographic prints in various sizes, printed single-sided on Bindakote board
1 die-cut divider sheet in coloured cardstock, unprinted
Insert
A kraft cardstock envelope is attached to the inside back cover and secured with a
yellow string closure. The envelope contains the reproduction of personal
documents belonging to Nguyen Hai Binh, treated with sand.

Special thanks:
This photographic journey would not have been possible
without the support of many people who contributed to my research. without the support of many people who contributed to my research.
In particular, I would like to thank: In particular, I would like to thank:
The expedition organized by The Israel Cave Research Center (ICRC), The expedition organized by The Israel Cave Research Center (ICRC),
Tetide APS, and the Israeli Speleological Association (ISA) Tetide APS, and the Israeli Speleological Association (ISA)
as part of the SpeleoMedit project. as part of the SpeleoMedit project.
With the Support of The Geological Survey of Israel (GSI) With the Support of The Geological Survey of Israel (GSI)
and the European Speleological Federation (FSE). and the European Speleological Federation (FSE).
Special thanks to the following for providing their images: Special thanks to the following for providing their images:
Boaz Langford – Israel Cave Research Center (ICRC) Boaz Langford – Israel Cave Research Center (ICRC)
Chiara Gadaleta – Tetide APS; Gruppo C.A.R.S. (Italy) Chiara Gadaleta – Tetide APS; Gruppo C.A.R.S. (Italy)
Francesco Lorusso – Tetide APS; GEOS (Italy). Francesco Lorusso – Tetide APS; GEOS (Italy).
Appendix photos by Nguyen Hai Binh, source: Flickr.

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