Since January 2023, Co-Creating Public Space, a nationally significant public art programme led by John Hansard Gallery, has presented Grace Lau’s Portraits In a Chinese Studio in a series of locations across the UK, including Southampton, London, Eastbourne, and St Leonards-on-Sea.
Read the journeys of the project’s Curatorial Assistants:
Wenjun Xie
Yutong Zhang
Portraits In a Chinese Studio is based on Grace Lau’s research into studio portraits made by 19th-century and early 20th-century Western photographers in China. Lau realised that Chinese subjects were placed in a Victorian studio setting as ‘exotic subjects’ and ‘unusual beings’. Lau’s project highlights this relationship and reverses the roles for 21st-century participants.
Lau’s photographic studio was made of ‘mock’ traditional Chinese furniture, with a decorative backdrop and accessories including a soft-toy panda rug. Participants were asked to pose in a similar formal manner to the Victorian studio portraits. However, in contrast to their historical setting, those having their portraits taken will be encouraged to keep their contemporary accessories, such as mobile phones, shopping bags, and clothing. A free portrait will be emailed to each participant.
Grace Lau comments:
Through this project, I am making a comment on Imperialist visions of the ‘exotic’ Chinese. I want participants to think about how different people have been represented in portraits over time, and today – placing people in this constructed historic setting and taking their portrait is a great way to start that conversation.
Over the course of 53 days, the project engaged 3,402 participants, resulting in 1,377 photographic portraits, with around 240,643 visitors coming from all over the world, even as far as New York!
Following the project’s run at the Marlands Centre, Southampton in February 2023, a selection of portraits taken were placed on display at John Hansard Gallery during September 2023. The project then toured to the Centre for British Photography in Autumn 2023, and as part of Eastbourne Alive alongside the Turner Prize in February 2024. It finally returned to Hastings in May 2024, where it first began twenty ago, and will culminate in one final exhibition as part of PhotoHastings in October 2024.
View the programme of events and activities delivered alongside the project here.
Participants’ comments:
“Wonderful to have such a memorable moment in time officially recorded in such a great project.”
“Unique experience, a lovely moment to completely stop in the centre of a bustling city. Love the project!”
“Excellent project that resonated with me as a Black American (whose ancestors were also the subject of the colonial gaze). That’s a phrase I learnt from Grace! Thanks for the project.”
Portraits In a Chinese Studio in Southampton was presented in association with Chinese Arts Southampton, Chinese Association of Southampton, UK Shaolin Centre, and the Confucius Institute. Digital copies of all the photographs were donated to Southampton City Archives, with the aspiration of creating a social record of communities in 2023.
