How a Chinese Canadian Photographer Memorialized a Community

In the early 1900s, C.D. (Chow Dong) Hoy (1883–1973)—one of the earliest Chinese Canadian photographers—created extraordinary portraits that present a unique view of the diverse community of Quesnel, British Columbia, a town where Indigenous people, Chinese immigrants, and European settlers formed a cross-cultural community. In an era of significant systemic racism and cultural marginalization, the idea that people from diverse backgrounds showed up at Hoy’s studio to be photographed and celebrate their own existence is a powerful statement. Today, Hoy’s work offers all of us a glimpse into a small frontier town and the many people who, just by being photographed, shift our conceptions of the past. The hope of course is that there is a similar shift in our collective vision of the future.

 

Click here to read the essay that accompanies this online exhibition.

 

This online exhibition has been curated by Faith Moosang, a multimedia artist, curator, writer, and researcher who lives and works in Vancouver. Her work centres around inquiry into spectacle culture, media, mediated imagery, and the mechanically reproduced image. She has an MFA from the School for Contemporary Art at Simon Fraser University and has expanded her practice to the realms of public art and curating contemporary art. She has also published books, articles, and blogs relating to culture, pop culture, research, history, and photography. Her research and writing have garnered awards and her specific passions are things archival, historical, and political.


  • Hoy Self-Portrait

    Hoy Self-Portrait c.1910

  • Mathilda Joe

    Mathilda Joe c.1910

  • Group of men in front of C.D. Hoy’s store in Quesnel

    Group of men in front of C.D. Hoy’s store in Quesnel c.1910

  • Laura (Yee) Sing / Mrs. Won Gar Wong

    Laura (Yee) Sing / Mrs. Won Gar Wong c.1915 / 1912

  • Lim Poi (likely)

    Lim Poi (likely) c.1910

  • Chinese man in business suit and traditional Chinese shoes

    Chinese man in business suit and traditional Chinese shoes c.1910

  • Chinese man in Revolutionary background

    Chinese man in Revolutionary background 1912

  • Caucasian man with pamphlet / Long Jim

    Caucasian man with pamphlet / Long Jim 1912 / c.1912

  • Cecilia, Marvin, and August (Sr.) Baker

    Cecilia, Marvin, and August (Sr.) Baker 1910–20

  • Betsy Adams (née Duchamp) and George P. Adams

    Betsy Adams (née Duchamp) and George P. Adams c.1910

  • C.D. Hoy and Josephine Alexander

    C.D. Hoy and Josephine Alexander c.1915

  • Kong Shing Sing on a horse on Barlow Avenue in Quesnel

    Kong Shing Sing on a horse on Barlow Avenue in Quesnel c.1910

More Online Exhibitions

Download Download