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

Paris encounters

Portrait de Jacqueline Picasso, 1962, Linocut

Whilst strolling around the 7^th on a sunny afternoon, I stopped in my tracks to admire this linocut print. I was struck by the piece’s simplicity. I admired the sketchy and sparse rendering of the sitter, so lovingly carved out. And then when I realized the work was executed by Picasso, I was not at all surprised. Although I admire the Cubist works that he is best known for, I have always been drawn to Picasso’s sketches and works in his Blue and Rose periods. This work was on sale at the Galerie Virgile for €1,450 – pas mal, I say…

PARIS PHOTODIARY

Not so long ago I took a quick trip to Paris for a short break from the dissertation that is slowly sucking out the life out of me. I read and read, made notes and more notes, typed out some ramblings, deleted said ramblings – so much so that I started to wonder what I was doing, and more importantly why?! At times like these, nothing can kick the study-blues better than a change of scene, a glass of wine, and the company of good friends. And I did just that!

I hopped on the Eurostar, danced in Pigalle, day drank at Les Jardins des Plantes, shopped in Saint Germain, and ate all over… take me back to Paris!

In the immortal words of Audrey Hepburn, “Paris is never a bad idea!”