Nancy Sheung
{{Short description|Female photographer from Hong Kong, active in 1960s and 1970s.}}
Nancy Sheung ({{zh|t=常惠珍}}; 1914–1979) was a Hong Kong photographer known for her bold lines and frequent focus on female subjects. She was most active in the 1960s and 1970s.
Early life
Nancy Sheung was born Sheung Wai-chun in Suzhou, China, in 1914. She told her husband and family that she paid for her education by working in an opium den, and she rode a horse to school with a shotgun for safety; her family has stated that these stories should be taken with a grain of salt.{{Cite web |title=Nancy Sheung Gallery |url=https://hundredheroines.org/exposure/nancy-sheung-gallery/ |access-date=2023-04-28 |website=Hundred Heroines |language=en-GB}}
Personal life
Sheung married merchant Pong Kuan-Wah in the mid-1930s. Together they moved to Hong Kong, where they had six children. Sheung founded and ran a construction company, sometimes acting as the family's primary breadwinner. In the late 1950s, the construction industry slowed down due to a sluggish economy, giving Sheung more time to focus on her photography.{{Cite web | first=Tiffany Wai-Ying | last=Beres | title=Rare Encounters: Nancy Sheung’s Portraits of Hong Kong Women in the 1960s |url=https://www.lumenvisum.org/en/exhibitions/rare-encounters-nancy-sheungs-portraits-of-hong-kong-women-in-the-1960s/ | website=Lumenvisum | access-date=2023-05-09 |language=en-US}}
Photography career
After attending a European photography exhibit in the 1950s, Sheung became interested in photography in her 40s. She purchased her first camera, a Rolleiflex, and apprenticed to Michael Leung, a prominent local photographer. She joined the Photographic Society of Hong Kong in 1965, becoming its vice-president in the 1970s.{{Cite web |last=Wood |first=Tessa |date=2021-10-13 |title=St Hugh's hosts exhibition featuring the photography of Nancy Sheung (1914–1979) |url=https://www.st-hughs.ox.ac.uk/st-hughs-hosts-exhibition-featuring-the-photography-of-nancy-sheung-1914-1979/ |access-date=2023-05-09 |website=St Hugh's College |language=en-GB}}
Sheung is known as one of the few female photographers of Hong Kong in the 1960s and 1970s; most of her contemporaries were men. She is also known for her use of dynamic, bold lines; portraits of women; architectural eye; and images of life in Hong Kong. Some of her most notable works include portraits of her daughter(s): The Pigtail,{{efn-lr|[https://www.theguardian.com/culture/gallery/2021/oct/15/discovering-hong-kong-photographer-nancy-sheung-in-pictures#img-2 The Pigtail]}} The Long-Haired Girl{{efn-lr|[https://www.scmp.com/magazines/hk-magazine/article/2036928/nancy-sheungs-powerful-photos-hong-kong-women-60s The Long-Haired Girl]}} and Staircase.{{efn-lr|[https://meaa.org.uk/event/nancy-sheung-rediscovering-my-grandmother-the-artist/ Staircase]}} Other interesting works include Zigzag,{{efn-lr|[https://www.ribaj.com/culture/nancy-sheung-line-and-texture-photography-hamlin-gallery-photo-oxford-festival Zigzag]}} Under the Cross,{{efn-lr|[https://www.theguardian.com/culture/gallery/2021/oct/15/discovering-hong-kong-photographer-nancy-sheung-in-pictures#img-4 Under the Cross]}} The Shadows,{{efn-lr|[https://www.theguardian.com/culture/gallery/2021/oct/15/discovering-hong-kong-photographer-nancy-sheung-in-pictures#img-8 The Shadows]}} and Drum Yard.{{efn-lr|[https://www.theguardian.com/culture/gallery/2021/oct/15/discovering-hong-kong-photographer-nancy-sheung-in-pictures#img-9 Drum Yard]}}
= Exhibitions =
- 23rd Hong Kong International Salon of Pictorial Photography 1968 (第廿三屆香港國際攝影沙龍). Hong Kong: The Photographic Society of Hong Kong, 1968.{{Cite web |last=Archive |first=Asia Art |title=23rd Hong Kong International Salon of Pictorial Photography 1968 |url=https://aaa.org.hk/en/collections/search/library/23rd-hong-kong-international-salon-of-pictorial-photography-1968#; |access-date=2023-05-09 |website=Asia Art Archive |language=en}}
- "Rare Encounters: Nancy Sheung's Portraits of Women in the 1960s" at Lumenvisum in March 2015.{{Cite magazine |date=2015-03-12 | first=Evelyn | last=Lok | title=Nancy Sheung's powerful photos of Hong Kong women in the 60s |url=https://www.scmp.com/magazines/hk-magazine/article/2036928/nancy-sheungs-powerful-photos-hong-kong-women-60s |access-date=2023-05-09 |work=South China Morning Post |language=en}}
- Exhibited at St Hugh's College, University of Oxford, in the Hamlin Gallery, from 15 October to 15 November, 2015.
- Sheung's work was exhibited at the Photo Oxford Festival in 2021, the first UK exhibition devoted to her work.{{Cite news |last=Gilbert |first=Sarah |date=2021-10-15 |title=Discovering Hong Kong photographer Nancy Sheung – in pictures |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/gallery/2021/oct/15/discovering-hong-kong-photographer-nancy-sheung-in-pictures |access-date=2023-04-27 |issn=0261-3077}}
Death
Notes
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References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Sheung, Nancy}}
Category:Chinese emigrants to British Hong Kong
Category:Chinese photographers
Category:Chinese women photographers
Category:Hong Kong photographers
Category:Hong Kong women photographers
Category:20th-century Hong Kong people