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M+, Hong Kong, © Muna Tseng Dance Projects, Inc., New York
Tseng Kwong Chi 曾廣智
Grand Canyon, Arizona, 1987 1987年，亞利桑那州，大峽谷
photographed 1987, printed 2017
Hong Kong–born photographer Tseng Kwong Chi began his influential black-and-white self-portraits in 1979, after moving to New York City. Shot over a ten-year period, the Expeditionary Series, also known as East Meets West, features Tseng posing in front of numerous landmarks around the world. In each instance, he is dressed in a uniform consisting of a second-hand Zhongshan suit—commonly referred to as a ‘Mao suit’—mirrored sunglasses, and a fake identification badge. This image portrays him seated, looking out over the Grand Canyon in Arizona, a geological wonder formed over millions of years. Tseng’s square compositions often feature the artist prominently in the foreground, but his pictures of natural environments generally diminish the size of his own body within the frame. This particular photograph also indicates a shift away from the self-portraiture that characterises earlier works in the series.
Acting as an ‘ambiguous ambassador’ or tourist, Tseng ironically explores a number of issues related to identity, such as cultural signifiers and stereotypes. The costume and performative quality of his fictional persona are associated with queer practices like drag and masquerade. Tseng’s status as a transnational immigrant informed the project’s geographic dislocation at a crucial time of diplomatic relations between China and the United States. The series probes many dichotomies: the individual and the universal, visibility and anonymity, and the body and the landscape.
Acting as an ‘ambiguous ambassador’ or tourist, Tseng ironically explores a number of issues related to identity, such as cultural signifiers and stereotypes. The costume and performative quality of his fictional persona are associated with queer practices like drag and masquerade. Tseng’s status as a transnational immigrant informed the project’s geographic dislocation at a crucial time of diplomatic relations between China and the United States. The series probes many dichotomies: the individual and the universal, visibility and anonymity, and the body and the landscape.
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