"Perspectives from the Darkroom: Vietnamese photography and unprocessed histories"
Discussant: May Adadol Ingawanij
Supervisors: Helena Mattsson, Cecila Järdemar
Location: Studion, Konstfack (Zoom link available on request)
Language: English
Welcome to Jacqueline Hoàng Nguyễn's 80% seminar, "Perspectives from the Darkroom: Vietnamese photography and unprocessed histories."
Discussant May Adadol Ingawanij was invited to act as a reviewer to Jacqueline Hoàng Nguyễn's PhD research so far, i.e. 80% to completion. The foundational research questions guiding Nguyễn's study are: What roles did photography—specifically that produced by and for local Vietnamese—play under the colonial regime, and from a contemporary perspective, what are the aesthetic and political implications of telling such a history?
Once called "La perle de l'empire," Indochina was perceived as one of France's most benevolent and civilizing enterprises. As part of its colonial expansion, photography played a crucial role in developing new forms of visuality, imbued with colonial ideology. Indochina, also known as the Indochinese Union (1887-1954), was a French colony encompassing present-day Cambodia, Laos, and Việt Nam. Compelled by the need to shift the narrative lens away from the dominant perspective of the ruling class, "Perspectives from the Darkroom: Vietnamese photography and unprocessed histories" uses a research-based artistic practice to examine photography not only within the space of visuality but also within the space of the unknown—from the darkroom, where images are yet to appear. By broadening the epistemological scope of image production during the colonial time and by including its space of production, alternative histories of the medium emerge.
This thesis brings to light rarely studied photographers and uses their seen and unseen visual production, as well as the distribution of their photographs as primary sources for historical analysis. The outcome of this research is twofold: an artistic production and a written thesis. The artistic output, an art film titled "Visions in the Dark" (working title), imagines the life of an aspiring photographer based on the real-life figure Khánh Ký (1885-1946). Set in early 20th-century Indochina and the metropolitan center of Paris, the story follows his rise through the social ranks by photographing portraits, initially anthropometric ones and later those of the colonial elites. As his political standings clash with his ambition, Khánh Ký must navigate a perilous path between the shadows and fame.
Alongside the film, a written thesis contributes to the historiography of photography by exploring the cross-cultural visual appropriations between France and Việt Nam, while also engaging with contemporary discourses on artists' archival impulses and moving-image productions, situated at the intersection of cinema, contemporary art, and theory.
May Adadol Ingawanij | เม อาดาดล อิงคะวณิช is a writer, curator, and teacher. She works on Southeast Asian contemporary art; de-westernised and decentred histories and genealogies of cinematic arts; avant-garde legacies in Southeast Asia; forms of future-making in contemporary Global South artistic and curatorial practices; aesthetics and circulation of artists' moving image, art and independent films belonging to or connected with Southeast Asia. She is Professor of Cinematic Arts and Co-director of the Centre for Research and Education in Arts and Media, University of Westminster.
Material for seminar: to receive material connected to the seminar, or to request a link to attend via Zoom, please email Mat Gregory at mathew.gregory@konstfack.se.
Any visitors unsure of how to find the room ‘Studion’ are invited to meet at Konstfack’s Infocenter at 12:50, where they will be guided to the venue.