Judge Grace Lau

Grace Lau, photographer lecturer and writer

Grace Lau is a photographer, writer and lecturer.

In 2005 the arts council funded Grace to construct a 19th century Chinese portrait studio in Hastings to collect an archive of diverse contemporary subjects. This concept arose from Grace's research into old archives of Chinese ‘exotic’ subjects photographed by British Imperialist travellers, photographers, scientists, missionaries, traders and military in China from 1840-1900. Her own project reverses the situation and, as a Chinese photographer, Grace collected a modern 21st century archive of 400 British seaside types.

Since completing this body of work it has been exhibited at,

2007: Tate Britain exhibition “How We Are: Photographing Britain”

2007: Photofusion, Brixton, exhibition “21st Century Types: A Photographic Study” from the same portrait series.

2008: January : Exhibition will tour to Aberystwyth Arts Centre.

This year Grace is busy researching and writing a book: “Picturing the Chinese” to be published by Joint Publishing Hong Kong in Spring, 2008, with archival images and text.

Grace Lau portrait by Lambie Brothers