Installation View
Installation View
Installation View
Installation View
Installation View
Installation View
Installation View
Installation View
Installation View
Part
I: Photography at China: 1845-1895
(Courtesy of Ge Lei)
Part II: A View from West towards East
(Courtesy of Ge Lei)
Part III: Early Photographic Techniques
(Artists:
Liu Baokui, Zhang Yajun, Sun Nuo, Lu Di, Yan Siwen, Sun Weiwei)
In those days of conflict between the Eastern
civilization and its Western counterpart, photography, one of the most
ingenious inventions then, played an incredible role in Chinese culture since
its introduction into China. It was regarded as a practical technology, but
more importantly, a “magic art” beyond social life and sensory experience. As
photographic technology became more available, China saw its first native photo
studios and first native photographers. The perspective that had been dominated
by Western photographers has since then changed, and the view and the perception
of “the other” culture therefore became bidirectional by virtue of photography.
This process, however, was closely related to the improvement and development
in photographic technology. Archaic as those techniques and methods may seem to
most of us today, they still afford food for thought, particularly when we take
a closer look at these faded photos impregnated with historical connotations.
This exhibition, titled “At China: Early
Photography and Photographic Technique”, consists of three parts.
The first part, “Photography at China: 1845-1895”,
following the clue of the early diffusion of photography in China, offers a
rich and invaluable collection of over 200 CDVs (carte de visite) and cabinet
cards by almost all the important Western photographers and their Chinese
colleagues in the 19th century, showcasing how this technology was
introduced into China by the early colonizers and how it was accepted and
spread in this country. The second part, “A View from West towards East”, referring
to over 40 paintings and photos about the 19thcentury when
photography was first invented, provides a China in a totally Western
perspective, that is, optionally viewed by Westerners in their imagination.
The third part, “Early Photographic Techniques”, deals
with the history and the reality of more than 10 major techniques in
photography, stretching from the early days to the application of gelatin silver
print. Our sincere thanks should go to the six photographers here who are still
keen on photographic technology: Liu Baokui (Daguerreotype), Zhang Yajun
(Cyanotype, Vandyke Process, Kallitype), Sun Nuo (Wet Collodion Process, Ambrotype,
Albumen print), Lu Di (Platinum print), Yan Siwen (Carbon print), Sun Weiwei
(Gum Bichromate Process). Their photographs in this digital age become an embodiment
of the beauty of photography as a technology, as well as their persistence in
photographic art.
