Here’s Looking at You! exhibition shows there’s more to Chinese portraiture than just the selfie
The three-part photographic exhibition spans different decades and time frames, but manages to capture the raw essence of Chinese culture
The selfie is a ubiquitous symbol of the millennial generation. And if you live in China, this is even more evident – inside museums and art galleries across the country, taking selfies in front of the works of art is de rigueur with many young visitors.
“Here’s Looking at You!” at the Shanghai Centre of Photography is a playful response to the selfie phenomenon – showcasing very different types of Chinese portraiture by photographers from very different social economic backgrounds.
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“With its suggestions of self-centredness and self-awareness, selfie is a byword for what psychologists describe as present day narcissism; selfie truly describes the self-absorbed 21st century life,” says curator and Chinese art critic Karen Smith.
“With this in mind, ‘Here’s Looking at You!’ takes the subject of the self in the photograph and looks at how the ways in which we see ourselves have – or haven’t – changed from the 1980s to today.”
The three series of images selected for the exhibition – from Guangzhou, Beijing and Hebei – present very different pictures of China “from intimate and inside perspectives”.
