Hastings Museum launches ‘Portraits in a Chinese Studio’ exhibition

Grace Lau’s ‘Portraits in a Chinese Studio’ opens at Hastings Museum & Art Gallery on Tuesday 13 January. 

The exhibition features photographs taken in Hastings and St Leonards of people posed in a style similar to Victorian studio portraits. The subjects are shown on ‘mock’ traditional Chinese furniture, set against a decorative backdrop, with their modern everyday items on display, such as mobile phones, plastic shopping bags and sunglasses. Together, these elements create a clear contrast between past and present. The first Hastings portraits were taken in 2005, with the final St Leonards series shot in 2025 – creating a 20-year archive.  

Grace Lau, photographer, artist and writer, said: “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.” 

Cllr Julia Hilton, deputy leader of Hastings Borough Council and lead councillor for Shaping Places, added: “We are delighted to showcase ‘Portraits in a Chinese Studio’ at Hastings Museum & Art Gallery. Grace Lau’s portraits celebrate the people of Hastings and St Leonards, while encouraging conversations about identity, culture and belonging. We are proud to host an exhibition that invites local people to see themselves and their stories represented in the museum.” 

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

The exhibition is on display until 29 March 2026. Find out more on the Hastings Museum and Art Gallery website - Portraits in a Chinese Studio. 

Paperback copies of Lau’s Portraits in a Chinese Studio book will be available for purchase in the museum shop.  

Notes to editor 

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.

Find out more on Grace Lau's website.

Photo courtesy of Grace Lau