Exhibition

By Flora Cui

Liu zheng started “The Chinese” in October 1994 and finished in 2001. There are a vast array of  images appearing in this large collection. There are Beijing Opera figures which represent traditional culture, together with modern cultural installations like mud sculptures housed in museums, as well as figures from different areas of Chinese society eg. prisoners,monks, labourers,farmers,child labourers. There are also works that contradict traditional aesthetic ideas and standards, including corpses and abnormal infant specimens. Zheng explores the dark side of Chinese culture and its psychology. The Chinese usually appear grotesque, absurd, shady, ugly, helpless, clumsy even barbaric, a reality which sometimes terrifies the audience. Liu Zheng attempts to reveal the long unerasable dark shadow of Chinese traditional culture behind those images.

"The Chinese" shows this reality and unites the present, past and future and documents this historical  reality and simultaneously brings this history to life. Liu Zheng  portrays many dimensions of the Chinese character both the cruel, darker side and the lighter side. This definitely enriches the definition and view of Chinese people and also shows the artist’s unique insight and thoughts on Chinese culture.