A forgotten social group: a Chinese photographic album

This applied thesis project focuses on a Chinese photographic album Work. The Manufacturing Industry in Dongguan: Real-life Stories of Migrant Workers housed at the Archive of Modern Conflict in Toronto. It is a handmade photographic album by Chinese photographer Zhan Youbing, consisting of 55 objects including 50 digital color prints (D2T2 prints) featuring the life of Chinese migrant workers in Dongguan, the biggest labor market in Southern China. This thesis comprises four components: a literature review introducing the unique status of migrant workers within the historical context of China’s urbanization and the preservation and conservation of photographic albums, an overview of the album, a complete illustrated catalogue of the 55 objects as well as a detailed instruction of the preservation of the album.