Ling, Elaine

Identity area

Type of entity

Person

Authorized form of name

Ling, Elaine

Parallel form(s) of name

    Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules

      Other form(s) of name

      • Elaine Ling

      Identifiers for corporate bodies

      Description area

      Dates of existence

      1946-2016

      History

      Photographer Elaine Ling was born in Hong Kong in 1946, and immigrated to Canada when she was nine with her family. She studied music and medicine, and obtained a medical degree from the University of Toronto. Ling practiced family medicine around the world, including Abu Dhabi, Nepal, and both urban and remote places in Canada.

      Ling continued to practice family medicine in the Greater Toronto Area during her life, and played cello in the community orchestra, Orchestra Toronto. She was an accomplished musician who also played the piano, baritone, oboe, and guitar. She was also a fellow at the Royal Canadian Geographical Society. The University of Ryerson offers a Research Fellowship in her name for students pursuing photography after receiving a generous donation from Ling. She passed away in 2016 from lung cancer.

      Her love for open space, stone, and nature propelled her to seek out places of solitude and places with ancient architecture. Her travels brought her across four continents, capturing the landscapes and beauty of Mongolia, Ethiopia, Madagascar, Timbuktu, Namibia, North Africa, India, South America, Australia, American Southwest; the citadels of Ethiopia, San Agustin, Persepolis, Petra, Cappadocia, Machu Picchu, Angkor Wat, Great Zimbabwe, Abu Simbel; and the Buddhist centers of Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, Tibet, and Bhutan.

      Ling’s photography - which is predominantly in Black & White - explores the shifting balance between man-made and nature. Her work has been exhibited all around the world, published in a multitude of collections, and is part of many public institutions' permanent fine art collections. In Canada, her work is in the collections of the National Gallery of Canada, Ryerson University, Art Gallery of Ontario, Royal Ontario Museum, and the Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography. She has also published four books of her art: Mongolia, Land of the Deer Stone (2009), Talking Stones (2015), Cuba Chronicles (2015), and Habitacion Cubana (2016).

      Places

      Legal status

      Functions, occupations and activities

      Mandates/sources of authority

      Internal structures/genealogy

      General context

      Relationships area

      Access points area

      Subject access points

      Place access points

      Occupations

      Control area

      Authority record identifier

      Maintained by

      University of Toronto Media Commons Archives

      Institution identifier

      Rules and/or conventions used

      Status

      Final

      Level of detail

      Dates of creation, revision and deletion

      Created September 20, 2019 by Elizabeth Carroll.

      Language(s)

      • English

      Script(s)

        Sources

        Arnone, Annie. “Remembering Toronto Photographer Elaine Ling.” Last updated August 11, 2016. https://theeyeopener.com/2016/08/remembering-toronto-photographer-elaine-ling/

        Ling, Elaine. “Biography.” Elaine Ling Photography. Accessed September 19, 2019. http://elaineling.ca/about/

        PhotoAlliance. “Elaine Ling.” Accessed September 19, 2019. http://www.photoalliance.org/elaine-ling

        Ryerson Image Gallery. “In memory of artist Elaine Ling.” News at the RIC. Last updated August 4, 2016. https://ryersonimagecentre.ca/news/aug-4-2016-in-memory-of-artist-elaine-ling/

        Whittaker, Richard. “Interview with Elaine Ling: Remote Wonders.” Works & Conversations. Last updated June 27, 2011. http://www.conversations.org/story.php?sid=275

        Maintenance notes