Ge Lei, Photography in China (1850s-1890s)

Through his research into early Chinese photography, Ge Lei exposes the intricate relationship between photographic transmission and the onset of capitalism. Beginning in the late 1850s, from coastal areas to the hinterlands, photo studios were established in parallel with the expansion of the treaty ports, as China was thoroughly and forcefully pried open by Western powers through the 1890s. "Photography in China (1850s-1890s)" is a conceptual presentation of this process in the form of a museum display.

This artwork was featured in the UCCA exhibition "ON | OFF: China’s Young Artists in Concept and Practice, ” 2013