Living History: Bound Feet Women of China is a new book by photographer Jo Farrell. "There is a general presumption that the bound feet women of China came from privileged backgrounds and wore exquisite silk shoes but I discovered that many of the surviving women came from peasant backgrounds and had lived extraordinary lives working in the fields, despite their bound feet," Jo says. "All the women I have photographed are now between 80 and 100 years old from rural areas in Shandong and Yunnan Provinces. My work is about capturing traditions and cultures that are dying out, and therefore I chose to use black and white film and print silver gelatin prints - in tribute to these resilient, formidable women, some of whom are no longer with us." Jo will discuss her project with Pamela Kember, Head of Arts and Learning at Asia House in London from 6.30pm, 15th June and members of the public are welcome to attend. Copies of the book are available for purchase at £35 including postal charges on the publication's dedicated online website and signed copies will be available for purchase at a special price of £25 after her talk at Asia House.

Press Release

Photographer Jo Farrell Publishes ‘Living History: Bound Feet Women of China'

Hong Kong-based Photographer To Talk at Asia House, London on her Extraordinary Book on the Remaining 'Bound Feet' Women of China

For the past nine years, Hong Kong-based photographer Jo Farrell has been documenting some of the last remaining women with bound feet in China. Her evocative black and white photographs and interviews with 50 of these women have been published in ‘Living History: Bound Feet Women of China.' On the publication of her book, Jo comments: "There is a general presumption that the bound feet women of China came from privileged backgrounds and wore exquisite silk shoes but I discovered that many of the surviving women came from peasant backgrounds and had lived extraordinary lives working in the fields, despite their bound feet. All the women I have photographed are now between 80 and 100 years old from rural areas in Shandong and Yunnan Provinces. My work is about capturing traditions and cultures that are dying out, and therefore I chose to use black and white film and print silver gelatin prints - in tribute to these resilient, formidable women, some of whom are no longer with us."

Jo will discuss her project with Pamela Kember, Head of Arts and Learning at Asia House in London from 6.30pm, 15th June and members of the public are welcome to attend. She will also address a private audience at the V & A on the same day in conjunction with the forthcoming exhibition ‘Shoes: Pleasure and Pain', opening 15th June, and will headline a luncheon at St George's Hospital on the 18th. Copies of the book are available for purchase at £35 including postal charges on the publication's dedicated online website and signed copies will be available for purchase at a special price of £25 after her talk at Asia House. Members of the public should contact the Asia House website to reserve a place: www.asiahouse.org/events (£8 general admission / £6 concession - walk-in attendance acceptable).

Subject to further funding, Jo is currently exploring future photographic projects including documentation of the distinctive facial tattoos of the tribal women of China's Hainan Island, and the ethnically exclusive Hakka women on Hong Kong.

For more information on the publication and Jo's work, please visit her website at www.livinghistory.photography

About Jo Farrell:
Jo Farrell is a documentary photographer and cultural anthropologist capturing traditions and cultures before they are completely eradicated. Born in London, England, she is currently based in Hong Kong. Her new book Living History: Bound Feet Women of China documents and celebrates the lives of the last remaining women in China with bound feet. In the past year Jo's project has been showcased on the BBC (Impact TV and news website), CNN (Kristie Lu Stout), The Smithsonian, The Wall Street Journal, Huffington Post, SCMP, Time Out, Stern, Localiiz, HK Magazine, Vanity Fair, FastCo., and many more. She is the recipient of many awards including a Jacob Riics, Center for Fine Art Photography, Women in Photography and Black & White Spider Awards.

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