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M+, Hong Kong, © Muna Tseng Dance Projects, Inc., New York
Tseng Kwong Chi 曾廣智
Wood pile, Vermont, 1983 1983年，佛蒙特州，木堆
photographed 1983, 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 captures him holding an axe, adjacent to a wall of chopped wood, evoking a form of manual labour usually done by burly lumberjacks. Tseng’s square composition is complemented by the circular motif of the logs. The rural American setting of this photograph contrasts with the landmarks that Tseng depicts in other works in this series and emphasises his interest in the position of the outsider.
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 nature 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 nature 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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