Earlier this year, I went to an exhibition that featured art works about the Falun Gong, an organisation and religion that started in China in the early 90's. It uses meditation and practices of qigong exercises along with moral philosophy.
Zhen Shan Ren Arts (UK) is a company set up to promote The Art of Zhen, Shan, Ren International Art Exhibition in the UK. “Zhen” “Shan” “Ren” are a Chinese translation of “Truthfulness” “Compassion” “Tolerance”.
These pieces of work are absolutely astounding. Capturing the faces of the people going through torture and evil doings. This religion was banned by the Communist Party of China in 1999. According to the gallery owner, he told me of things that the chinese government had done to these people, including organ harvesting, torture, and taking away their human rights. The CPC believed that they were getting too big an organisation and labelled them 'Heretical'.
The artwork within this exhibition was pouring with so much emotion, that I actually shed a tear just reading and looking at all the pictures and their captions to go along with them. Although they were all replicas and there for printed onto canvas, so no brushstrokes, the image itself and how it was put together was phenomenal. For instance just look at that girls face. How the artist has captured the emotion in her eyes, the lines of her face, the odd water drop dripping down her face. The police officer assaulting that helpless old woman. The composition is astounding. It screams at you the story of each character.
I wish that there were more exhibitions with artwork that captured that gritty subject matter than most artists are afraid to do. Its an example of how we can use artwork to not only tell a story but inform people. Its a language, and this exhibition certainly tells it's story.
I loved this piece of artwork so much I bought a poster of the piece that features the little girl. If this exhibtion was on again I would definitely recommend it. It was an enlightening experience, and one I would visit again.
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