
Re-viewing Julia Margaret Cameron's Ceylon Women Photographs
Presentation Type
Presentation
Start Date
8-3-2025 2:20 AM
Description
Shalini Amerasinghe Ganendra, Independent Interdisciplinary Scholar / Adjunct Professor, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, Malaysia
Re-viewing Julia Margaret Cameron's Ceylon Women Photographs
Julia Margaret Cameron has a unique place in the pantheon of those who recorded British colonial Ceylon because few know that she spent the last four years of her life in Ceylon, died, and is buried there.
Cameron’s images of Ceylon women are of particular interest here, not only because they are understudied, but because the studies by Western scholars are somewhat problematic. The surviving images by Cameron of Ceylon total around 26, and of those about 12 are portraits of local women. The reasons for bringing Cameron’s collection into view are threefold. Firstly, their past review highlights the pitfalls in Western scholars presuming coloniality where a photographer is a colonial, and the subject is the colonised. Another objective is to present the alternative portraiture style in contrast to the dominant style of commercial “ethnographic” photography and to show the possible influence of Cameron’s style on early private commissioned portraits of Ceylonese taken around the same time. Finally, the study will consider two portraits by Cameron of famed artist, Marianne North, who visited and stayed with Cameron, in Ceylon, to better understand different and arguably contrasting perspectives in her approach to photographing women in Ceylon.
Dame Shalini Ganendra, DSG, is an interdisciplinary scholar with nearly 30 years of experience in programming, research, and legal practice. Her work focuses on the creative practices and cultural histories of under-researched regions, seeking to develop alternative frameworks for understanding these areas. She has held visiting academic appointments at prestigious institutions, including the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, and currently serves on the Advisory Board of the Heong Gallery at Cambridge University's Downing College. Shalini holds a degree in Law from Cambridge University and an LL.M. from Columbia University Law School. She is qualified as a Barrister (UK) and as an attorney in New York. Throughout her career, she has combined her legal expertise with her scholarly pursuits, contributing to research and programming that bridges disciplines and challenges conventional narratives. Her ongoing work is dedicated to advancing a deeper understanding of global cultural practices while fostering cross-disciplinary dialogue.
Relational Format
Conference proceeding
Recommended Citation
Ganendra, Shalini Amerasinghe, "Re-viewing Julia Margaret Cameron's Ceylon Women Photographs" (2025). Women of Photography: A 24-Hour Conference-a-thon Celebrating International Women’s Day 2025. 8.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/womenofphotography/2025/schedule/8
Re-viewing Julia Margaret Cameron's Ceylon Women Photographs
Shalini Amerasinghe Ganendra, Independent Interdisciplinary Scholar / Adjunct Professor, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, Malaysia
Re-viewing Julia Margaret Cameron's Ceylon Women Photographs
Julia Margaret Cameron has a unique place in the pantheon of those who recorded British colonial Ceylon because few know that she spent the last four years of her life in Ceylon, died, and is buried there.
Cameron’s images of Ceylon women are of particular interest here, not only because they are understudied, but because the studies by Western scholars are somewhat problematic. The surviving images by Cameron of Ceylon total around 26, and of those about 12 are portraits of local women. The reasons for bringing Cameron’s collection into view are threefold. Firstly, their past review highlights the pitfalls in Western scholars presuming coloniality where a photographer is a colonial, and the subject is the colonised. Another objective is to present the alternative portraiture style in contrast to the dominant style of commercial “ethnographic” photography and to show the possible influence of Cameron’s style on early private commissioned portraits of Ceylonese taken around the same time. Finally, the study will consider two portraits by Cameron of famed artist, Marianne North, who visited and stayed with Cameron, in Ceylon, to better understand different and arguably contrasting perspectives in her approach to photographing women in Ceylon.
Dame Shalini Ganendra, DSG, is an interdisciplinary scholar with nearly 30 years of experience in programming, research, and legal practice. Her work focuses on the creative practices and cultural histories of under-researched regions, seeking to develop alternative frameworks for understanding these areas. She has held visiting academic appointments at prestigious institutions, including the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, and currently serves on the Advisory Board of the Heong Gallery at Cambridge University's Downing College. Shalini holds a degree in Law from Cambridge University and an LL.M. from Columbia University Law School. She is qualified as a Barrister (UK) and as an attorney in New York. Throughout her career, she has combined her legal expertise with her scholarly pursuits, contributing to research and programming that bridges disciplines and challenges conventional narratives. Her ongoing work is dedicated to advancing a deeper understanding of global cultural practices while fostering cross-disciplinary dialogue.
Comments
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