Liu Dahong… ‘Childhood’ at Rossi & Rossi

A few weeks ago, I attended a talk at the Courtauld hosted Liu Dahong and Chinese art expert Dr. Katie Hill titled ‘Memorabilia from an Age of Troublemaking’, which coincided with Liu’s first solo show outside of Asia, ‘Childhood’ at Rossi & Rossi in Mayfair. The talk was incredibly insightful, and it was really great to hear what Liu had to say about his own personal influences.

At the start of the talk Liu Dahong stated that he had lived through three dynasties: firstly, under Chairman Mao’s leadership, secondly, at the aftermath of his death, and thirdly, the past 10 years heralding a new dynasty. One can certainly sense that Mao has certainly influenced Liu’s art, with his altarpiece Church depicting Chairman Mao at the centre as ‘God’, and Mao’s last wife Jiang Qing taking position to his right. Furthermore, Liu’s inclusion of militant workers instead of family members is representative of the concept of the whole world as a family – exemplified by the common use of the word ‘comrade’ during those times.

Of his ‘Childhood’ series, Liu said that his main interest was in the Cultural Revolution, and his specific memories of his very unique and special childhood. He recounted how his childhood memories are mostly of playing, with school back then only taking up half the day. He also remembers the presence of Big Character posters (大字报) with everyone taking a keen interest in politics, though for the young Liu his interest was more in the spectacle and excitement of the party.

Certainly, the jovial and light-heartedness of his paintings evoke a sense of playfulness. For Liu, he says that children of the Cultural Revolution led extremely happy lives. He views his childhood as being superior to the lives of one-child-policy children in China now, whose lives are a mundane routine or being solely cared for by adults with little contact with other children. Calling them “pathetic” and “unfortunate”, it is clear that Liu holds a nostalgic longing for his wild childhood where he roamed around getting burnt in the sun. Most of all, Liu longs for fearlessness – he says his fearlessness born out of swimming in the sea led to his bravery in adult-life that allowed him to go against the law and have two children of his own.

‘Childhood’ on until 30^th May

Rossi & Rossi, 16 Clifford Street, Mayfair, London W1S 3RG