New York, New York

Wearing dark glasses and a Mao Zedong suit, Tseng Kwong Chi traveled worldwide to create his evocative series East Meets West, in part inspired by Richard Nixon’s 1972 visit to China. Born in Hong Kong to exiled Chinese Nationalists, he invented the persona of a Chinese “Ambiguous Ambassador” to explore tourist photography and critically assess political tensions of the 1970s and 1980s.
While mocking the period’s U.S.-China relations, Tseng’s images also highlight his ability to move freely across borders, a right that was denied to many Chinese. In this image, he jumps ecstatically before the Brooklyn Bridge, creating a photograph that is both a tongue-in-cheek and thoughtful consideration of the role of a historic site, tourism, and a foreign traveler’s body in the landscape. We also catch a glimpse of the shutter release and cord attached to the camera, the technology that made this self-portrait possible.