Chinese photographer spoofs famous ancient painting with images of modern social ills

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Chinese photographer spoofs famous ancient painting with images of modern social ills

PUBLISHED : Monday, 24 November, 2014, 5:40pm
UPDATED : Monday, 24 November, 2014, 10:26pm

Chris Luo [email protected]



An image of one section of the artwork which has drawn praise online. Photo: Weibo

Images of a 25-metre-long photographic art piece which offers a new twist on a famous 900-year-old painting have gone viral among mainland internet users.

The long composite piece addresses 40 topical social issues and features hundreds of figures. It draws inspiration from the famous long painting Along the River During the Qingming Festival, an artwork that dates back to about the 12th century which features more than 800 figures.



This scene replicates fishermen demanding money for salvaging the bodies of drowned students. Photo: Weibo

The piece, Along the River During the Qingming Festival 2013, made up of hundreds of photographic images, was exhibited at this year’s Lianzhou Foto, an annual photography festival held in northern Guangdong province. But when a spectator posted images of the artwork on Weibo at the weekend, they quickly went viral.

By Monday morning, the Weibo post had been reposted more than 30,000 times, drawing more than 3,000 comments. Most of the reaction was positive.

Dai Xiang, an artist and photographer, said it took him and two assistants two and half years to finish the work. Hundreds of models appeared in the work, with Dai himself showing up as the central figure.



Part of the artwork replicates the "My father is Li Gang incident". Photo: Weibo

The controversial events depicted have all caused public outcry in recent years.

One section of the piece captures the infamous “Li Gang incident” in 2010, when a 22-year-old was involved in a car crash in which one woman died and another was severely injured. When arrested, the young man allegedly shouted “Sue me if you dare. My dad is Li Gang!”

Li Gang was the deputy police chief in the district of Baoding in Hebei province.

Another part of the artwork replicates the scene of several fishermen refusing to return the bodies of three college students that they had salvaged from a river to their families, unless they paid a reward of 36,000 yuan. A photograph of the scene captured by a journalist won a Golden Lens award, the Chinese equivalent to a Pulitzer.



Part of the artwork that depicts chengguan bullying illegal street vendors. Photo: Weibo

Other staged scenes are devoted to images of urban administrative officials, or chengguan, who are notorious for brutalising illegal vendors, and the maltreatment of suspected prostitutes by police.

Dai described his work as a dramatic representation of some social issues that stand out in modern China.

“It shows the conflicts between traditional Chinese values and western values brought in by the reform and opening-up several decades ago,” the photograph’s description reads.

Dai could not be reached for comment on Monday. His artwork will be on display at the exhibition until December 22.



Dai Xiang, the artist behind the work, said it took him and two assistants two and half years to finish the work. Photo: Weibo

Along the River During the Qingming Festival is one of the most famous Chinese paintings. It captures the daily life of people and the landscape of Song Dynasty (960-1279) capital of Bianjing during a Tomb-Sweeping Day.

The painting features 814 people, 28 boats, 60 animals, 30 buildings, nine sedan chairs and 170 trees.





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