Eastern Promise

Eastern Promise is a series that examines how colonial photography has shaped, and continues to shape, the perception and understanding of the Chinese diaspora in Southeast Asia. The work is based on late nineteenth-century and early twentieth-century photographs taken by Western photographers of the Chinese community in colonial Malaya then. These images have now been digitally reproduced and stored in archives across Europe, alongside its physical copies. Singapore was founded as a British trading post in 1819, and together with Penang and Malacca, became part of the Straits Settlements — a Crown Colony — in 1867. The city remained under British rule until the mid-twentieth century. During this time, with increased trade and movement between Europe and its colonies, Western photographers travelled to this region and established photo studios. Throughout history, the camera has often been wielded as a tool of violence, complicit in the perpetuation of oppressive narratives. Some of these photographs were intended as ethnographic studies, and were sold as souvenirs to European markets. In looking at these historic images, I realised that certain tropes and patterns emerge from the photographs. Specific props, costumes, poses, and backdrops were used to contextualise and exoticise the Southeast Asian setting. Thus, to make these stereotypes and artificial constructions more apparent, I created my own props and costumes to extend the ‘colonial image’ beyond its frame. Through self-portraiture, I recreated these images within the domestic setting of my home in London. Eastern Promise aims to interrogate how these images reinforced racial stereotypes and upheld imperial power. The resulting photographs unpack the artifices of the medium while critically examining the enduring legacies of colonialism.