Charmaine Toh provides a fresh perspective on Tate's latest venture
Rewritten Article:
Vietnam War Shadows and Challenging Narratives: Charmaine Toh's New Acquisitions at Tate
Charmaine Toh, fresh off the bat as photography curator at Tate, has got her sights set on revitalizing the museum's collection. Her first target? A series of photographs from the Vietnam War made by the Vietnamese photographer Võ An Khánh. The Tate already houses notable work on the Vietnam War, from Don McCullin's unforgettable image of a US marine to the museum's 2019 retrospective on war photographers. But Toh's new acquisitions offer a refreshing shift from the usual battlefield narrative.
Take, for example, an image that shows a group of nurses huddled under a shelter in the U Minh forest in South Vietnam, knee-deep in water, waiting for a patient on a stretcher. Another shows children holding up their blackboards in a makeshift outdoor classroom. "We're so accustomed to war photos, usually packed with action or soldiers," says Toh. "But Khánh's photos create a different story. They're about daily life, not grenade-throwing. So, suddenly, we're left questioning: what is war for the people?"
Khánh's contributions carry weight on their own, says Toh, but their impact is amplified when they join Tate's collection, where they inspire reevaluations of established narratives. "What if we can reexamine Don McCullen's photos in a fresh light?" wonders Toh.
This has been Toh's guiding philosophy since she joined the Tate last year. As the curator of international photography, she's tasked with expanding the museum's collection and crafting compelling displays across its London, Liverpool, and St Ives locations. The role is crucial in British art, as it involves shaping the canon and tackling the challenges that arose from the pandemic and a 20% decline in visitors compared to pre-2020 levels.
Toh moved from Singapore to grab the coveted position. She's excited about working with Tate, known for its international focus and eagerness to explore transnational narratives. "My goal is to present expanded histories, advocating for global art history," she says. "That's what led them to hire me at this juncture."
Toh's work involves sculpting the vast tapestry of photographic history into a narrative that resonates with the general public—a responsibility she's familiar with from her eight-year tenure as curator at National Gallery Singapore. However, London remains a fresh ground. Toh was born in Singapore and studied economics as an undergraduate—a common choice for Asia's parents, she jokes, "since it's useful." But her love for art blossomed as she filled extra credits in art history and eventually earned a PhD in the subject.
After her stint in academia, Toh dove into photography curation in a contemporary art center before joining Singapore's main art museum. There, she found herself fascinated by modern and historical photography, up against an urgency to conserve works before they disappeared, as families discarded photos when artists passed away, and Singapore's tropical climate ravaged photographs. The outcome was a much-celebrated exhibition, Living Pictures: Photography in Southeast Asia in 2022, the first survey of the region’s photographic history.
In London, life's been a (literal) price hike, with Toh still grappling with the sticker shock of a single tube ride and missing the food choices back in Singapore. But she's nonetheless impressed by the freely accessible artworks in British museums, including Tate, where she frequently retreats to the eerie, subterranean halls to relax.
Toh is the third photography curator Tate has had, following Simon Baker, who organized blockbusters like The Radical Eye, and Yasafumi Nakamori, who focused on South African photographer Zanele Muholi and British photography in the 1980s. Catherine Wood, Tate Modern's director of programs and chief curator, praises Toh for her ability to create exhibitions for diverse audiences and her perspective shaped by expertise in East and Southeast Asian art and photography.
Toh's first intervention in the gallery is playful yet illuminating. A room features Salvador Dalí's famous lobster telephone paired with an array of peculiar animal and plant species by Singaporean photographer Robert Zhao Renhui. The exhibition challenges viewers to reassess the lobster telephone, a Tate staple, in this post-truth era and to consider the speculative fiction of Renhui's contemporary pieces in relation to surrealism.
More recently, Toh curated a space dedicated to the work of 20th-century Czech photographer Josef Koudelka. The display showcases works from his three signature projects, treating viewers to a "clean, classical hang" and prompting a fresh take on themes such as displacement, exile, and identity.
Upcoming plans include Toh's first exhibition, scheduled for autumn 2026, which explores the global spread of art photography, commonly known as pictorialism, from the 1880s to the 1960s. The exhibition promises to present previously overlooked practitioners, like Lang Jingshan from China and Ilse Bing from Germany, shedding light on the movement's international scope and impact during periods of significant social change.
Tate strives to champion the best in international modern and contemporary art, and with Toh at the helm, its collection will continue to challenge viewers and tackle themes that resonate with the ever-changing world. As Toh puts it, "It's not just about offering fresh perspectives—it's about provoking thought, pushing boundaries, and inspiring conversations."
Stay tuned for Toh's upcoming insights as she engages with contemporary artists during Tate Modern's Birthday Weekender on May 11.
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- Charmaine Toh's acquisition of photographs from Vietnamese photographer Võ An Khánh at Tate in 2022, featuring images of daily life during the Vietnam War, offers a refreshing shift from traditional battlefield narratives and encourages viewers to question the purpose of war for the people.
- In her role as the photography curator at Tate, Charmaine Toh intends to present expanded histories and advocate for global art history, adding a fresh perspective to established narratives, as demonstrated by her innovative display pairing Salvador Dalí's lobster telephone with Singaporean photographer Robert Zhao Renhui's works.
- As part of Tate's ongoing efforts to champion international modern and contemporary art, Charmaine Toh plans to curate an autumn 2026 exhibition exploring the global spread of art photography, commonly known as pictorialism, from the 1880s to the 1960s, featuring previously overlooked practitioners such as Lang Jingshan from China and Ilse Bing from Germany to shine light on the movement's international scope and impact during periods of significant social change.
