Anne Maxwell's "Colonial Photography and Exhibition" (Book Note)

 

In grappling with the critique of colonialism advanced by scholars like Edward Said, Homi Bhabha, and Ann Stoler, the theme of the mutual constitution of self and other in colonial discourse has become a well-explored terrain. The examination of how colonial powers, through representations of indigenous peoples, shape their own identity, demonstrates the intricate interplay between colonizer and colonized. This relationship, where the 'periphery' influences 'metropolitan' identity and knowledge, forms the backdrop for Anne Maxwell's analysis of images produced between 1850 and 1915—specifically, the 'live displays' at Great Exhibitions in England and France and the diverse range of photographs produced by colonial powers. Maxwell's objective is to scrutinize the racism that inflicted physical and psychological harm on the subjects of these images while also contributing to the formation of European identities and 'white hegemony.'

 

The strength of Maxwell's comprehensive study lies in its abundance of rich material, explored through numerous case studies and examples, including 55 plates. Her account of parallel developments across the globe allows for the emergence of broad patterns. However, the challenge of achieving such a sweeping perspective lies in the potential sacrifice of detail and complexity. In her quest to highlight the inequalities of imperialism, Maxwell's readings occasionally lean towards a deterministic view of colonial relations, assuming a universally evil cast. Moreover, her emphasis on 'racism' as the sole explanation for attitudes and events, evaluated through contemporary moral standards, tends to sideline a more historically nuanced analysis of the ambivalent relationship between colonizers and the colonized.

 

Maxwell's exploration begins by examining the connection between exhibitionary displays of live peoples and contemporary racial theory. She surveys the increasingly spectacular displays in the Jardin d'Acclimation in the 1880s, illustrating how they set the pattern for similar displays worldwide, invoking scientific, philosophical, and moral discourses of imperialism. The subsequent chapter delves into photographs of non-European peoples, initially produced by travelers and early anthropologists keen on recording human differences in observable, physical terms. Maxwell briefly considers the work of prominent photographers, such as Prince Roland Bonaparte. Notably, she interprets one of Bonaparte's photos of Native American 'Standing Bear' as evidence of a potentially reciprocal relationship, where the subject's gaze back at the photographer opens up a space for reciprocity.

 

However, Maxwell's reliance on concepts like 'the look' and 'looking relations,' drawing on the work of film theorist Ann Kaplan, raises questions when applied to nineteenth-century colonial photography. The assumption that the 'returned gaze' empowered the subject and interrogated the white viewer appears questionable in historical contexts where Indigenous subjectivity was overwhelmingly marginalized. Maxwell's examination of Bonaparte's photograph of Aboriginal people, 'Billy, Jenny, and Little Toby,' complicates this perspective, as all three subjects gaze steadily at the camera, displaying unhappiness, anger, or despair. This challenges the simplistic notion that 'looking relations' universally empowered subjects in colonial photography. The interpretation of formal pictorial elements must consider the specific circumstances of each photograph's production within its historical and cultural context.

 

The subsequent four chapters explore evolving representational strategies in settler colonies across North America, Australasia, and the Pacific. Maxwell begins by detailing American exhibitions, such as the 1893 Chicago Columbian Exhibition, where the 'White City's' vision starkly contrasted with the 'Midway,' an amusement zone featuring the display of colonized peoples. She then delves into American photography's diverse interests, from Agassiz's 1850s slave records supporting polygenesis theory to Edward Curtis's 'salvage ethnography' capturing the 'vanishing race' of Native Americans from 1907 to 1930.

 

Contrasting with the aggressive capitalism in North America, the subsequent chapter explores the enthusiasm for exhibitions in Australia and New Zealand as assertions of modernity that excluded indigenous people by consigning them to the past. Despite Maxwell's intent to recover indigenous subjectivity, questions linger about the perspectives of the indigenous subjects themselves. For instance, in analyzing a tableau of seven Maori individuals at the 1906-07 Christchurch exhibition, she highlights their success in engaging with European culture, raising the question of why these elite individuals participated in producing an image within the confines of white representational practices.

 

Maxwell's account of Charles Walter's 1860s photographs of Victorian Aboriginal people also raises concerns. She attributes to Walter a 'propensity for sexual voyeurism' and claims he produced images of semi-pornographic nature. However, doubts emerge about the existence of such images, as no evidence or citations are provided. This challenges the credibility of Maxwell's claim, particularly given the cultural context of the time.

 

The concluding chapters focus on 'dissident' photographers, namely Thomas Andrew in Samoa and Margaret Matilda White's portraits of East Coast Maori tribes. These photographers captured subjects living in two worlds, adept at adopting pakeha culture without abandoning their own. The final chapter explores how photographic portraits of the Hawaiian royal family, designed to emphasize their nobility in the European monarchy style, were strategically deployed to garner support for Hawaii's independence under the looming threat of American annexation in 1898. This concluding section disrupts the earlier chapters' simplistic structural relationship between colonizers and the colonized, prompting a reexamination of the complex and contradictory roles visual imagery played in colonial discourse.