The Tea Plant; The Tea Plant; Yenping Rapids; A Small Rapid Boat c. 1868

Curator: This work is titled "The Tea Plant; The Tea Plant; Yenping Rapids; A Small Rapid Boat," a photographic album page by John Thomson, created around 1868. The collection is held here at the Art Institute of Chicago. My immediate impression is its quiet, observant nature; it feels remarkably balanced. Editor: Indeed. The way Thomson organizes these four separate images within a single frame creates a visual poem about labor, landscape, and the flows of production in 19th-century China. Look at how the top two photographs show the careful cultivation of tea, and the lower two capture its transport by water. Curator: Precisely. The composition utilizes a straightforward grid, yet there’s a rhythmic contrast between the static tea plants and the dynamic, rapid waters. The monochrome tonality further unifies the elements, underscoring a serene yet industrious quality. What I find most striking is how Thomson utilizes light and shadow to sculpt depth. Editor: Right. That light reveals much about the labor embedded in tea production and river transportation. The photographic process itself – the chemicals, the equipment, the time spent in these remote areas – represents a significant investment of labor and resources. Curator: Consider how these seemingly detached scenes imply an underlying narrative. The diagonal thrust of the rapids is offset by the solid forms of the mountains and dwellings. There’s a clear formal interplay at work between stability and flux. Editor: I am curious about the perspective Thomson employs. His positioning seems to elevate the tea cultivation as a sort of objective observation, while those involved with the river become pieces of it, not separate from nature. I see the colonial gaze implied in those artistic decisions, which in turn speaks of larger trade mechanics at play during the late Qing dynasty. Curator: Perhaps it is that colonial gaze which renders such beautiful contrasts into something almost diagrammatic; a system seen from the outside. What this layout does so successfully is showcase how the land itself, cultivated by these labors, yields visual poetry. Editor: I'm drawn to thinking about how the tangible conditions of Thomson’s photography reveal social hierarchies in 19th century China. Examining the entire lifecycle through his images, a flow is represented and the value chain becomes transparent to those in another place and time. Curator: Thinking through those ideas highlights for me how his composition emphasizes the human connection with both the land and the currents of economic exchange at that time. Editor: For me, that focus reminds us how every element within art—like any production or extraction process—is deeply entrenched in both social relations and labor.