Harbour of Hongkong; St Johns Cathedral Hongkong; Carriage; Tub Mending, North of China 1869

Curator: This is a wonderful albumen print by John Thomson from 1869, titled "Harbour of Hongkong; St Johns Cathedral Hongkong; Carriage; Tub Mending, North of China". Editor: What strikes me first is the diptych-like format. It feels almost like flipping through someone’s travel album, these staged, contrasting snapshots creating a curated yet strangely intimate narrative of place. Curator: Exactly. Thomson was quite methodical in documenting 19th-century China. These images are less spontaneous and more constructed to offer particular viewpoints to Western audiences. Notice the contrast between the panoramic harbour scene and the domestic tableaux. Editor: The harbour! It is like looking at an anthill. So many ships! You get this huge sense of burgeoning international trade but then, quickly drawn down to, a lone craftsman, quietly repairing a tub. It feels like being caught between two worlds— the impersonal, rapid movement of colonialism and the quiet persistence of individual lives. Curator: Thomson's work frequently played with this tension, showcasing both the grand colonial infrastructure and the seemingly timeless customs of the local population, reinforcing Western perceptions. The placement of St. John's Cathedral against the mountainous landscape underscores the influence of Western religion and architecture as well. Editor: Those constructed scenarios bother me. It’s like you can feel the weight of the Western gaze on these individuals, like they’re posing for someone else’s story. How do you see it affected the wider reception? Curator: Well, these images played a significant role in shaping European and American understandings of China during this period, further promoting narratives of cultural difference and Western superiority. However, we can also view Thomson’s attention to the lives of everyday people as an attempt, however imperfect, to move beyond mere exoticism. Editor: That is valid, and even with a lens of caution and questioning I do think this work offers invaluable insight. Maybe because seeing through someone elses "curated" version can give you something new, unintended even. Curator: Indeed, a multilayered glimpse of 19th-century Hong Kong, laden with the complexities of cross-cultural encounter and the burgeoning age of photography itself.