How many ways can you photograph a wall? Since the fall of the Ming dynasty, the Great Wall of China has gone from being a fortress against nomadic northern invasions to becoming one of the top ten tourist attractions in the world—and the most photographed site in China. Of these many depictions, this exhibition highlights and compares the work of two seminal Great Wall photographers William Edgar Geil and William Lindesay.

The exhibition displays 84 'then' and 'now' installments of the realist photography of early pioneer Geil and the more literary impressions of William Lindesay who founded the International Friends of the Great Wall, a group dedicated to preserving the cultural heritage of the Wall. In 1908, Geil made history by producing the first full-length panorama of the wall. Lindesay, a contemporary photographer, also traveled the length of the wall but with vintage photographs as a guide. His goal was to capture the past and the present in a technique called rephotography.

Lindesay’s work is a sort of before and after study that allows us the chance to examine changes over time in a particular are of the wall. Through the juxtaposition of older and recent photographs, we get a glimpse of the past and the effects of wear and tear over time.

Also on display at the exhibition are original Great Wall photographs that date back from 1871. You can also look at Geil’s field diaries, manuscripts and other travel paraphernalia that take us back through history such as the old American flag with just 13 stars.

The exhibition’s winning point is its thoroughness. Organized by the International Friends of the Great Wall, each display is carefully researched, informative and still intriguing. In sum, it seems the most typical emblem of China, a snapped shot of the Great Wall, reminds us that the photographs we take are an account of change itself. The Wall becomes a reference point to track the progression of history in China, and these photographs become a part of that history as well.

Bradford Kessler