All about photo.com: photo contests, photography exhibitions, galleries, photographers, books, schools and venues.
AAP Magazine Women Extended to Friday Only! Win: $1,000 Cash Prizes + Publication
AAP Magazine Women Extended to Friday Only! Win: $1,000 Cash Prizes + Publication

Photo Book

Share
Photographer: Chien-Chi Chang
By Chien-Chi Chang, Claudia Glenn Dowling
Publisher: Aperture
Publication date: 2005
Print length: 160 pages
For Taiwanese photographer Chien-Chi Chang, Double Happiness is an extremely personal project: “For years, my folks had been bugging me to get married,” he says, “and I wanted to show them how I view marriage in Taiwan. I'm not anti-marriage... but I had to do something to protest.” That was in 1994, and thus began Chang's fascination with the Taiwanese wedding industry. Double Happiness is the maturation of this original impetus. His first work on the topic was classically photojournalistic in approach, following the mainstream wedding industry as it manufactured strangers into brides and grooms. Almost ten years later, the work and his approach have evolved enormously, resulting in a body of work that addresses the fringes of the wedding industry: the voluntary importation of women from Vietnam and other poorer Asian countries into Taiwan for the purpose of brokered marriages. In this process, a selection of young women are displayed to the men who sign up for the service; if a man chooses one of the girls and she accepts the proposal, the marriage takes place within three days. The marriage broker handles the entire affair from selection process to ceremony. Chang offers a series of scenarios throughout the process such as selection, application and paperwork, and ceremony. The images are accompanied by interviews with the brokers, the men and women, and sample “interviews” that take place between the potential bride and grooms as they determine the suitability of their partners.

Chien-Chi Chang was born in 1961 in Taiwan. Over the past decade, he has worked in New York's Chinatown, documenting the lives of immigrants there. These pictures have appeared in National Geographic magazine, as well as the New Yorker, Time and German Geo. The series earned Chang first place in the category “Daily Life Story” from World Press Photo in 1999. That same year, Chang won a grant from the W. Eugene Smith Memorial Fund for humanistic photography and was awarded the Visa d'Or in magazine photography in Perpignan. He was named the Missouri/NPPA 1999 Magazine Photographer of the Year. His previous publication, The Chain (2001) is a collection of portraits made of inmates in a mental asylum in Taiwan. He has exhibited at the Taipei Fine Arts Museum, The Venice Biennale, and the Sao Paolo Bienal and at the International Center of Photography in New York. Chang is a member of Magnum Photos.
Our printed edition showcases the winners of AAP Magazine call of entries
All About Photo Magazine
Issue #45

Photography Book from the same artist

Call for Entries
AAP Magazine #46 Women
Publish your work in AAP Magazine and win $1,000 Cash Prizes

Selected Books

Advertisement
Win a Solo Exhibition in April
Photo Basel 2025
AAP Magazine #46: Women

Latest Interviews

Exclusive Interview with Fabiola Menchelli
Currently on view at the Norton Museum of Art, certain silence marks artist Fabiola Menchelli’s first solo museum exhibition in the United States. Running through March 23, 2025, the show offers an immersive exploration of photography’s materiality, challenging conventional notions of perception and image-making. Comprising more than 20 works—including previously unseen pieces—Menchelli’s ethereal compositions unfold through a meticulous process of folding, exposing, and developing light-sensitive materials. Created without a camera or negatives, her works blur the boundaries between control and chance, revealing intricate layers of abstraction and poetry. Through this interplay of light and form, certain silence invites viewers into a meditative space where perception itself becomes the subject of inquiry.
Exclusive Interview with Kristin Taylor and Kyli Hawks on Art, Activism, Policy, and Power at MOCP
Art, Activism, Policy, and Power is an educational framework offering resources and opportunities for high school students to engage with artist-activists. The program focuses on various justice topics, utilizing the MoCP’s exhibitions, visiting artists, and collections as teaching tools. Students explore how artists incorporate research into their work to amplify urgent social issues, while also gaining insight into the power of the arts in advancing activism.
Exclusive Interview with Jaume Llorens
Jaume Llorens, born in Porqueres, near Girona, has been passionate about photography since his teenage years. Though he began exhibiting his work later in life, his artistic journey has quickly gained recognition on the international stage. His work is characterized by a deep, contemplative connection with nature, where silence and observation shape his artistic vision. His poetic project Gaia, inspired by this reflective approach, earned him the December 2023 Solo Exhibition. We asked him a few questions about his life and work.
Exclusive Interview with Asiya Al Sharabi
Asiya Al Sharabi is a Yemeni-American visual artist whose work has been recognized both nationally and internationally. She began her career as a journalist and photographer before shifting her focus to artistic photography, using her lens to explore the complexities of identity, culture, and migration. Now based in the U.S., her work is deeply rooted in the experiences of Middle Eastern women, young adults, and immigrants—themes that continue to shape her creative vision.
Exclusive Interview with Members of Circulo Collective
Círculo Collective is a photography group dedicated to fostering unity and shared humanity during these challenging times. This exclusive collective brings together photographers from five countries: India, Tanzania, Iran, Brazil, and Poland. In a world increasingly defined by division and conflict, the mission of Círculo Collective holds profound significance. Through their work, they seek to remind us of the connections that bind us and the power of community in overcoming adversity. We reached out to them with a few questions to gain deeper insights into their project.
Exclusive Interview with Manuela Federl
Manuela Federl is a journalist and documentary filmmaker with over 15 years of experience. She studied languages, economics, and cultural studies, focusing on the Mapuche people in Chile, which became the subject of her published thesis. In 2016, she founded her company, bergjournalisten, and has since created award-winning documentaries like 100 Hours of Lesbos and THE GAME. Gambling Between Life and Death. For the past two years, she has traveled extensively, documenting social issues through photography and storytelling. Her series The Roma Princesses earned her the January 2024 Solo Exhibition.
Exclusive Interview with Dona Ann McAdams about ’Black Box’
Black Box, a memoir by award-winning American photographer Dona Ann McAdams, combines fifty years of black and white photography with the photographer’s own short lyric texts she calls “ditties.” The book brings together McAdams’ striking historical images with personal reflections that read like prose-poems. Her photographs, taken between 1974 and 2024, document astonishing moments and people across decades of American life.
Exclusive Interview with Grace Weston
Grace Weston’s staged photography transforms miniature vignettes into powerful narratives that explore psychological themes with a playful yet profound touch. Her meticulously crafted scenes invite viewers to delve into stories of power, identity, and human complexity. Weston’s innovative work has earned international recognition, including winning the November 2023 Solo Exhibition. We asked her a few questions about her life and work.
Exclusive Interview with Tebani Slade
Tebani Slade is a fine art, street, and documentary photographer whose work bridges continents, blending the raw authenticity of her Australian roots with the vibrant energy of her second home in Barcelona. Known for her thoughtful approach to storytelling, Tebani immerses herself in unfamiliar settings, capturing unscripted moments that reveal profound truths about the world around her.
Call for Entries
AAP Magazine #46 Women
Publish your work in AAP Magazine and win $1,000 Cash Prizes