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M+, Hong Kong, Photograph by Tseng Kwong Chi. © (1988) Muna Tseng Dance Projects, Inc. New York. www.tsengkwongchi.com
Tseng Kwong Chi 曾廣智
Oshima dunes, Japan, 1988 1988年，日本，大島沙丘
photographed 1988, printed 2017
Hong Kong–born photographer Tseng Kwong Chi began his influential black-and-white self-portraits after moving to New York City in 1979. 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. 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 photograph portrays him standing in the charcoal sand dunes of the Japanese island Izu Oshima, and it demonstrates his skill in creating compelling compositions.
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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