Power and Perspective: Early Photography in China

Karina Corrigan and Stephanie Tung

Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA

9/24/2022 - 4/2/2023

Felice Beato, Jules Itier, Lamqua, Sunqua, John Thomson, William Pryor Floyd, Kung Tai studio, Lai Afong, Milton Miller, Charles Leander Weed, Tung Hing studio, Thomas Child, William Saunders, Liang Shitai, Gao Lian, and other artists working in China

Power and Perspective explores how the introduction of photography transformed perceptions of 19th century China. The exhibition mines PEM’s collection of 19th century photographs of China – one of the most important in the world – to reveal and reframe photography as an inherently social medium that demands the participation of many people, including viewers today.

This exhibition asks us to consider how photographs were and still are used to tell stories that privilege certain ways of seeing the world. Historical photographs are not neutral forms of documentation; they are the result of history, politics, and people coming together. By coming to a better understanding of how and why these photographs were made, visitors will become more critical viewers of photography today. What new stories are possible when we acknowledge the power and perspective of each photographic encounter?

The show’s conclusion highlights a three-month-long virtual collaboration with emerging photographers in China. Responding to the historical photographs in the show, these photographers produced works that reveal that China today is a dynamic place with a multitude of perspectives – just as it was in the 19th century.