Portraits in a Chinese Studio – Grace Lau’s Photography in Hastings & St Leonard’s

Posted: January 9th, 2026 | No Comments »

Portraits in a Chinese Studio – Grace Lau

  Hastings Museum and Art Gallery, East Sussex – 13 January, 2026 – 29 March, 2026

Grace Lau’s Chinese portrait studio has been on a memorable journey through Hastings, Southampton, London, and Eastbourne – finishing this year in St Leonards on Sea. This exhibition shows a selection of the portraits captured en route in Hastings and St Leonards on Sea. The portrait studio was made of ‘mock’ traditional Chinese furniture, with a decorative backdrop and accessories. Those featured were asked to pose in a similar manner to Victorian studio portraits, juxtaposing their modern items.

Through this project I am making an oblique comment on Imperialist visions of the ‘exotic’ Chinese and, by reversing roles, I have become the Imperialist photographer documenting my exotic subjects in the South of England.’ (Grace Lau 2006)

These rich, many layered, opulent portraits made by a Chinese-born feminist photographer are a monument to place, race, people, and the passing of time; they are also a direct political comment on the uses of photography as propaganda.

This project was funded by Arts Council England and supported by John Hansard Gallery.

About the Artist

Born in London of Chinese parentage, Grace Lau is a practicing photographer, artist, writer, and lecturer. She has an MA in Photography & Culture from UAL. She has exhibited widely, including at the National Portrait Gallery, Tate Britain, Turner Contemporary Margate, Photo Fusion London, and Aberystwyth Art Centre. Her work is in the collections of the National Portrait Gallery, Tate Modern, Sarah and David Kowitz, and the Asia Culture Centre in South Korea. She won first prize at the fourth Global SinoPhoto Awards in 2024. Her work was included in the Tate Britain exhibition The Eighties: Photographing Britain in 2025.

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