Photos capture frontier life
A family portrait taken by Chow Shong Wing is part of an Nanaimo Art Gallery exhibit of prints recreated from the photographer’s glass plate negatives.
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Updated: December 01, 2009 9:06 AM
Ichow shong wing first professional photographer in Cariboo town.
An exhibit at the campus Nanaimo Art Gallery features the photographs of Quesnel’s first professional photographer.
Thirty framed photographs were digitally printed from glass plate negatives created by Chow Shong (C.S.) Wing, who was born in the Cariboo gold rush town in 1890. His family ran the Wah Lee Store in Quesnel, where Wing set up his studio on the upper floor.
Wing began shooting portraits of residents in the frontier town in 1907 and captured the economic, religious and social forces at work. The photos also reflect a casual intimacy between individuals of diverse cultural backgrounds.
Represented in the photos is the significant presence of Chinese and First Nations populations, dressed in clothing and props conventional to the dominant white population.
Wing continued taking photos of the multicultural town until the 1920s.
Upstairs at Wah Lee’s runs until Dec. 19. The art gallery is located off Fifth Street.
Please call 250-740-6350.
