A new exhibition at London’s Tate Modern is shining a spotlight on Singapore’s pioneering photographers from the 1950s, showcasing their contributions to the global development of pictorialism, an art movement that elevated photography beyond mechanical reproduction. The exhibition, titled "Light And Magic: The Birth Of Art Photography," opened recently and will run through February 21, 2027.
Co-curated by Singaporean art historian Charmaine Toh, who is acting head of curatorial at Tate Modern, the exhibition features some 200 vintage prints by over 80 photographers from diverse countries, including Australia, Brazil, China, India, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore. The show aims to broaden the traditionally Eurocentric and North America-focused view of pictorialism by highlighting its growth in Asia and other regions.
Among the Singaporean photographers presented are Wu Peng Seng, Yip Cheong Fun, and Lee Sow Lim, key figures recognized for their dedication to the craft. Their works include Wu’s 1958 photograph "Construction," depicting a silhouetted worker at Paya Lebar Airport, and Yip’s 1959 image "The Days Of Innocence," which shows two mothers carrying babies in a crowded setting. Wu and Yip have been honored with Singapore’s Cultural Medallion, the nation’s highest artistic award, while Lee was the first photographer to receive the Public Service Medal (Pingat Bakti Masyarakat).
The exhibition also highlights the vital role of photo clubs in fostering international artistic exchange. The Photographic Society of Singapore, established in 1950, maintained connections with the Royal Photographic Society in London and regularly exhibited in global salons. Collaborations extended to Hong Kong photographers like Ho Fan, whose dramatic cityscapes reflect a shared artistic dialogue between the former British colonies, which served as Asian centers for pictorialism after World War II.
Toh’s decade-long research into the history of photographic art involved extensive archival work and interviews with surviving artists or their relatives. Challenges included preservation issues arising from tropical climates where prints suffered from mold and gelatin degradation, as well as historical events such as China’s Cultural Revolution, which forced photographers like Luo Bonian to hide their works to ensure survival.
More than 90 percent of the exhibition’s works are vintage prints made directly by the photographers, underscoring the emphasis they placed on the darkroom as an extension of the creative process. Many of Singapore’s early photographers developed their prints at home, sometimes late into the night, viewing the creation of the final print as central to the art itself.
The exhibition includes an operational darkroom offering workshops on traditional photographic methods, which have seen strong interest, especially from younger audiences. Toh notes this revival partly reflects a broader desire to engage more deeply with the making of photographs in a digital age.
Looking ahead, Toh plans to explore how photography’s meaning continues to evolve, particularly in light of new technologies such as artificial intelligence. She observes a contemporary shift in how viewers approach images, often questioning their veracity rather than accepting them as truth, highlighting growing anxieties about authenticity in visual media.
“To me, photography has changed more drastically than any other medium,” Toh said. “From an image created by exposure to light to digital and now AI-generated images, its very essence keeps shifting—and this transformation is ongoing.”