In the decades following the invention of photography in 1839, European photographers traveled to Asia, documenting cultures and landscapes with a realism previously unknown. Employing cumbersome large format cameras and delicate paper or glass plate negatives, these intrepid photographers captured the first images of Japan after it had been closed to the West for over 200 years. A distinctive style of photography developed in Japan. Koshashin (Japanese for ‘old photography’) features a selection of over 200 of these delicately hand-coloured albumen prints by photographers such as: Raimund von Stillfried, Felice Beato, Uchida Kuichi and Kusakabe Kimbei. This exhibition explores this remarkable period in photography, when Japanese culture was represented to the west. The works are drawn from The Hall Collection, an Edmonton private collection that is one of the largest private collections of these images in the world.
The Art Gallery of Alberta respectfully acknowledges that we are located in Treaty 6 Territory and Region 4 of the Metis Nation of Alberta. We respect this as the traditional and contemporary land of diverse Indigenous Peoples including the Plains Cree, Woodland Cree, Beaver Cree, Nitsitapi/Blackfoot, Métis, Nakota Sioux, Anishinaabe/Saulteaux/Ojibwe and Dene Peoples. We also acknowledge the many Indigenous, Inuit and Métis people who make Alberta their home today.