23 June 2025 - Online
Initiated by Danial Shah, with the support of Ruth Loos and Paolo Favero
This half-day artistic seminar brings together artists and researchers whose work traverses the boundaries between photography, performance, identity, and community. At its heart is the studio—not merely as a site of image production, but as a politicised space of negotiation, desire, and projection. Across diverse geographies—from China, India, Morocco, Pakistan and the United Kingdom—speakers explore how studio photography becomes a medium for both personal articulation and collective imagination in public and domestic spaces.Through ethnographic film, archival reflection, performative self-portraiture, and public interventions, the seminar invites us to reconsider how photographs stage and restage identity, intimacy, tradition, and difference. The backdrops of these photographs—painted landscapes, exoticised representations, tourist fantasies—are not passive scenery but active agents in the construction of visual meaning.Together, the presentations question how photographic practices adapt across time and culture, respond to political change, and subvert conventions. From the transformation of the family unit in post-Mao China to the irony of exoticism on Jemaa El-Fna square, and the counter-archives built through self-staging, these works foreground photography as a space of both memory and possibility.
With guests Dr. Caroline Molloy, Cheryl Mukherji, Laila Hida and ZHAO Shuting.
Programme
- 14:00 - 14:15 Welcome and Introduction by Danial Shah
- 14:15 - 14:45 Presentation: Performing Transcultural Studio Photography: Backgrounds as Foregrounds by Dr. Caroline Molloy
- Dr. Caroline Molloy will present an ethnographic film clip that draws from her early research undertaken for her PhD thesis, completed in 2021. She will speak about how she used the prism of photography, to investigate socio-cultural practices in her geographical locale as a way of better understanding her local community in north London. Drawing from photographic documentation, photo-analysis and open-ended questions she aimed to better appreciate the pivotal role of photography within the community. In doing this, she argues that the photography studio is a politicised space in which transcultural practices take place.
- Dr. Caroline Molloy will present an ethnographic film clip that draws from her early research undertaken for her PhD thesis, completed in 2021. She will speak about how she used the prism of photography, to investigate socio-cultural practices in her geographical locale as a way of better understanding her local community in north London. Drawing from photographic documentation, photo-analysis and open-ended questions she aimed to better appreciate the pivotal role of photography within the community. In doing this, she argues that the photography studio is a politicised space in which transcultural practices take place.
- 14:45 - 15:15 Presentation: Framing the Individual: Family Photography and Everyday Life in Post-Mao China by Zhao Shuting
- This presentation explores how the notions of the “small family” and the “individual” visually emerged in Chinese family photography between the 1980s and early 2000s.During the Maoist period, most family-related visual practices were embedded in collective, state-oriented frameworks—such as workplace portraits, school graduation photos, or identity photography for administrative use. Following the reform and opening-up, private photographic practices shifted: urban households began producing images centred on their own family members, capturing intimate moments such as birthday portraits, weddings, leisure activities, and family travel. These photographs materialized a new vision of private life and signalled a transformation in Chinese individualization—from collective identity to personal and familial selfhood.
- This presentation explores how the notions of the “small family” and the “individual” visually emerged in Chinese family photography between the 1980s and early 2000s.During the Maoist period, most family-related visual practices were embedded in collective, state-oriented frameworks—such as workplace portraits, school graduation photos, or identity photography for administrative use. Following the reform and opening-up, private photographic practices shifted: urban households began producing images centred on their own family members, capturing intimate moments such as birthday portraits, weddings, leisure activities, and family travel. These photographs materialized a new vision of private life and signalled a transformation in Chinese individualization—from collective identity to personal and familial selfhood.
- 15:15 - 15:30 Break
- 15:30 - 16:00 Presentation: Arnakech, The Spectacle of Cultural Difference by Laila Hida
- The Arnakech pop-up studio, set up in 2018 on Jemaa El-Fna "mythical" square, is a performative work that plays with the conventions of photographic practice as well as those of public space and performance. By diverting the traditional use of the photo studio into a social experience, Arnakech explores the dynamics of interaction between the square’s various protagonists: hlaykis (halqa performers-artists), local visitors, foreign tourists, food stalls, street vendors, touts, and more.The real-life theater of the square is reimagined through a small-scale setup that offers both perspective and mise-en-abîme on the notions of travel, exoticism, and symbolism—through kitsch and irony—confronting us with the ways in which we construct our fantasies and projections.Ch[a]rita, curated by Francesca Masoero & Rim Mejdi is a program of artistic interventions, conversations, screenings, and workshops that takes place in public and shared spaces, as well as in venues dedicated to art and culture. Ch[a]rita is supported by the Susanna Biedermann Foundation.
- The Arnakech pop-up studio, set up in 2018 on Jemaa El-Fna "mythical" square, is a performative work that plays with the conventions of photographic practice as well as those of public space and performance. By diverting the traditional use of the photo studio into a social experience, Arnakech explores the dynamics of interaction between the square’s various protagonists: hlaykis (halqa performers-artists), local visitors, foreign tourists, food stalls, street vendors, touts, and more.The real-life theater of the square is reimagined through a small-scale setup that offers both perspective and mise-en-abîme on the notions of travel, exoticism, and symbolism—through kitsch and irony—confronting us with the ways in which we construct our fantasies and projections.Ch[a]rita, curated by Francesca Masoero & Rim Mejdi is a program of artistic interventions, conversations, screenings, and workshops that takes place in public and shared spaces, as well as in venues dedicated to art and culture. Ch[a]rita is supported by the Susanna Biedermann Foundation.
- 16:00 - 16:30 Presentation: A Proposal: Women in Matrimonial Photographs and Photo Studios by Cheryl Mukherji
- The presentation features Cheryl Mukherji's current work Wanted Beautiful Home Loving Girl, which is an exploration of the histories, legacies, and conventions of matrimonial portrait photography in Indian arranged marriages. Inspired by matrimonial photographs of her grandmothers, aunts, and mother within her family albums that were made--often exclusively in photo studios and domestic spaces--she reimagines the tradition by staging self-portraits within her home where she set up a photo studio with hand-painted backdrops. Historically, the traditional matrimonial photograph has acted as a visual currency exchanged between families, wherein the prospective bride is expected to perform her desirability, femininity, and domesticity for the male suitor through prescribed gestures and good looks, which comply with Eurocentric beauty standards, the colonial imagination, and the male gaze. Through self-portraiture, Cheryl Mukherji is interested in the performance and play of identity and aspirations that one engages in to qualify as an ideal prospective bride for a suitor. This work acts as a counter-archive that articulates new possibilities for pleasure, play, and performance, against the traditional matrimonial photographs.
- The presentation features Cheryl Mukherji's current work Wanted Beautiful Home Loving Girl, which is an exploration of the histories, legacies, and conventions of matrimonial portrait photography in Indian arranged marriages. Inspired by matrimonial photographs of her grandmothers, aunts, and mother within her family albums that were made--often exclusively in photo studios and domestic spaces--she reimagines the tradition by staging self-portraits within her home where she set up a photo studio with hand-painted backdrops. Historically, the traditional matrimonial photograph has acted as a visual currency exchanged between families, wherein the prospective bride is expected to perform her desirability, femininity, and domesticity for the male suitor through prescribed gestures and good looks, which comply with Eurocentric beauty standards, the colonial imagination, and the male gaze. Through self-portraiture, Cheryl Mukherji is interested in the performance and play of identity and aspirations that one engages in to qualify as an ideal prospective bride for a suitor. This work acts as a counter-archive that articulates new possibilities for pleasure, play, and performance, against the traditional matrimonial photographs.
- 16:30 - 17:00 H66, a personal case study of landscapes and landmarks by Danial Shah
- From postcards and travel literature to studio backdrops, photographs of landscapes and landmarks do more than depict places—they construct desire, memory, and power.This presentation traces how such photographs shape collective imagination, grounded in Danial Shah's personal artistic practice. Through a case study of his photographic archive, Danial examines the tension between individual identity and collective fantasy: Why do we ritualistically reproduce certain landscapes and landmarks? How do they mediate representation in studio photography? Navigating between the act of photography as a reflex or a ritual, the presentation reveals how these photographs oscillate between documentation and performance.
- From postcards and travel literature to studio backdrops, photographs of landscapes and landmarks do more than depict places—they construct desire, memory, and power.This presentation traces how such photographs shape collective imagination, grounded in Danial Shah's personal artistic practice. Through a case study of his photographic archive, Danial examines the tension between individual identity and collective fantasy: Why do we ritualistically reproduce certain landscapes and landmarks? How do they mediate representation in studio photography? Navigating between the act of photography as a reflex or a ritual, the presentation reveals how these photographs oscillate between documentation and performance.
- 17:00 - 17:30 Discussion and closing remarks
Practical
- Date and Time: Monday 23rd of June, 2025 - 14:00 - 17:30 hrs (CEST Time Zone)
- Registration is free but mandatory. Register via the red button below.
- Location: online (link to be provided after registration)
Biographies
Caroline Molloy
Caroline describes herself as an artist, academic and writer. She is the programme director of Fine Art and Photography at University for the Creative Arts, Farnham. She holds a PhD in Arts and Humanities, from Birkbeck, an MA in Photography from the Royal College of Art, and an MA in Visual Anthropology from Goldsmiths. Her research interests are focused on the marginalised voice in both gender and post/decolonial colonial contexts. She has exhibited both nationally and internationally including at Jaipur Photo and Arles Photo festival and was part of the collaborative 209 Women in Parliament exhibition at the Palace of Westminster. In addition, she has spoken at a number of conferences including Decolonizing Visuality, Counter Image International Conference, Colegio Almada, Lisbon, the international conference of photography and theory: photography and the everyday, Nicosia and Culture Things Empire research seminar, Birkbeck University of London. Notably relevant to this application, she received funding as part of the living memory heritage lottery funding project which she used to create a contemporary archive of the Women of Walsall to redress their absence in the archive. This work was shared with the participants at a women’s focused event before being shown in the box gallery at New Art Gallery Walsall.
Website: www.carolinemolloy.co.uk
ZHAO Shuting
ZHAO Shuting is a PhD candidate in anthropology at EHESS, jointly supervised by Caroline Bodolec (CNRS) and Catherine Capdeville (INALCO). Her research explores family photography in China from the post-Mao era to the pre-digital period (1980–2010), combining visual anthropology with oral history to examine everyday life under state transformation. She conducted fieldwork in China and Taiwan (2024–2025) with support from the French Centre for Research on Contemporary China (CEFC).
Website: www.shutingzhao.com
Laila Hida
Laila Hida is a Moroccan artist and cultural worker based in Marrakech. She is primarily interested in images and photography, exploring its ambivalence as both archival material and triggers for fiction. Her recent work, "Le Voyage du Phoenix," examines the use of photography, literature, and cinema as tools to distill the 20th century's regime of desire. In 2013, she founded LE 18 Marrakech, a multidisciplinary cultural space and art residency based in the medina of Marrakech that extends her long-term intention to question and explore the impact of the environment on art production, mediation and research approaches. She has curated many programs in Morocco and internationally, including the LE 18 collective proposal at documenta 15. She is also the initiator of Dabaphoto, an annual programme on photography and image-making in Morocco that is now in its 8th edition.
Website: www.lailahida.com
Cheryl Mukherji
Cheryl Mukherji (b. 1995, India) is a visual artist and writer based in Brooklyn, New York. She was the 2024 Artist-in-Residence at the Penumbra Foundation, where she hosted her exhibition 'Marriage Material' in 2025. In 2024, she was shortlisted for the C/O Berlin Talent Award and the Arnold Newman Prize for New Directions in Photographic Portraiture. Her work has been exhibited, both solo and in group shows, at the Brooklyn Museum, National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian, Museum of the City of New York, International Center of Photography, Penumbra Foundation, The Print Center, Baxter St. at Camera Club of New York, among others. Cheryl’s works are included in collections at the Harvard Art Museums and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. She holds an MFA in Advanced Photographic Studies from ICP-Bard College, New York (2020).
Website: www.cherylmukherji.com
Danial Shah
Danial works with the mediums of photography and film. He is currently pursuing an artistic PhD at the University of Antwerp and Sint Lucas Antwerp, focusing on "Visions of Becoming and Belonging," an exploration of photo studios in Balochistan, Pakistan.” His debut feature film, Make it Look Real (2024), is currently being shown at various film festivals.
Website: www.danialshah.com