Ceylonese Tea Pickers, Edward Atkinson Hornel (c. 1907)

Ben Reiss exposes Britain’s colonial gaze, contrasting Edward Atkinson Hornel’s photography and painting, Ceylonese Tea Pickers. Edward Atkinson (E.A.) Hornel’s Ceylonese Tea Pickers boldly depicts Tamil women working in their ‘natural’ Sri Lankan landscape. But looking at the painting through the lens of Hornel’s original study photographs exposes the distance between the artist’s fantasies and reality. Stitching together different shots, subjects, and sitters, Ceylonese Tea Pickers reflects the colonial mindset of an artist working at the height of the British Empire, with networks across Australia, Glasgow, and numerous colonies. PRESENTER: Ben Reiss, Morton Photography Project Curator at the National Trust for Scotland, and co-curator of E. A. Hornel: From Camera to Canvas. ART: Ceylonese Tea Pickers, Edward Atkinson Hornel (c. 1907). IMAGE: ‘Ceylonese Tea Pickers’. SOUNDS: Trills. PRODUCER: Jelena Sofronijevic. Read Jelena’s review of E.A. Hornel: From Camera to Canvas, showing at the City Art Centre, Edinburgh until 14 March 2021: edinburghmuseums.org.uk/stories/review-ea-hornel-camera-canvas Follow EMPIRE LINES at: twitter.com/jelsofron/status/1306563558063271936 Support EMPIRE LINES on Patreon: patreon.com/empirelines