An Introduction to Southeast Asian Photography

A foundational reader on Southeast Asian photography culture and history, based on a decade of research and fieldwork!

This book, based on a decade of research and fieldwork, outlines the trajectory of photography development in Southeast Asia since the colonial era.

The book includes ten countries – Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Singapore – with independent chapters presenting the historical connections between culture, society, politics, and photography across Southeast Asia. It also introduces numerous local photographers and artists' imaging practices, expanding the Asian perspective of world photography history.

The author, Zhuang Wubin, is an image researcher, curator, and artist, and also an editorial board member of "Trans-Asia Photography Review," a photography criticism journal. He has received numerous international research grants and participated in residency programs, with a long-standing focus on photographic practices in Southeast Asia and the connections between photography, nationalism, and the Cold War.

The original English edition was published by NUS Press in 2016, and the Chinese edition is now being published for the first time by The Image and Narrative Press.