EVENT | Lecture: Archives of Chinese Families and Friends Photographs
Mon, Apr 13
|Liu Shiming Art Gallery
This extraordinary collection examines the immediacy and meaning of casual photographic images as they are repurposed in a different context.
Time & Location
Apr 13, 2026, 6:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Liu Shiming Art Gallery, 15 E 40th St 5th FL, New York, NY 10016, USA
About the event
The Liu Shiming Art Foundation presents a special talk led by Joe Lawton, Clinical Professor in the Department of Theater and Visual Arts at Fordham University. Titled “Looking at the Collection of Thomas Sauvin: Archives of Chinese Families and Friends Photographs,” this lecture offers an exploration of the current Archives exhibition, in dialogue with the works of Liu Shiming and the photographic archive of the Beijing Silvermine project by Thomas Sauvin.
In this lecture we will examine the extraordinary collection of everyday family photographs or 'snapshots' that Thomas Sauvin has collected and archived over many years, and are currently exhibited with the works of Liu Shiming. We will ask what are the qualities of 'snapshots' that are unique and differ from other genres of the medium, and when taken out of their original purpose and context, how does that change the meaning of the pictures and the way we read them. Finally, in the age of digital images, what does the future hold for collecting these wonderful organic and mysterious images?
Through themes of time, transition, preservation, and obsessive archiving, the session invites participants to reconsider the meaning and specificity of vernacular photography—family and friends snapshots capturing everyday life in China. A conversation led by Maëlle Ebelle and Joe Lawton, along with a presentation of Thomas Sauvin’s artist books, will further expand this reflection on how such images take on new significance when recontextualized.
Program
6:00 – 7:00 PM
Exhibition Tour led by Maëlle Ebelle
An introduction to theArchivesexhibition, focusing on the works of Liu Shiming and the Beijing Silvermine project by Thomas Sauvin. The tour provides context for understanding how sculpture and vernacular photography engage with memory, everyday life, and archival practice.
7:00 – 9:00 PM
Lecture by Joe Lawton
A lecture and discussion exploring the nature of vernacular “snapshot” photography and its transformation through archival and curatorial frameworks. The conversation will examine how meaning shifts through selection, sequencing, and recontextualization, and will include a presentation of Thomas Sauvin’s artist books.