Statement About My Recent Works
Author: Pu Jie
2005
The collection of Lemon Yellow is the conceptual work of art with two superposed focuses and overlapped images. My works have been trying to express the changes in China in last 40 years – the Cultural Revolution in the first 20 years, and the reform and opening followed. Thus, what are the key changes in the first and second 20 years? From a sociology point of view, the Chinese socialization in the first and second 20 years is the fundamental change in the ideology in China. During the Cultural Revolution, the socialist ideology focused on Chairman Mao tried to implement the mental system in Chinese society with the myth of the leader and the "permanent loyalty" of the public. The myth encouraged the (around)-1-billion Chinese people to perform infinite ideological struggles for the "correctness of mental system", and to take it as the only objective of their lives. During the Cultural Revolution, such ideological struggle in fact penetrated into all aspects in Chinese society, which is not only a pattern of political ideology, but also the individual lifestyle. The background of "Don't Call Me Again" is one of the most common wedding picture at that time. In the terms of Cultural Revolution, they are a couple of "revolutionary partner". Wearing the old-style military uniform representing the revolutionary thought of proletariats, the bride and the bridegroom left the most revolutionary wedding picture in their most beautiful moment. It is a symbol of revolution, justice and power, because at that time, to own a set of old-style military uniform is an indicator of revolutionary asset and social status. Since the reform and opening, in only 20 years, Chinese society turns from a purely ideology society into an almost purely material one. Though the fundamental tone of the nation remains the same socialistic concepts as the past, in late 20th century, the materialistic social structure is a pattern of superposition between material and power, and between material and desire. That is to say, the generation following the revolutionaries has a materialistic lifestyle. The generation is of individual perfection. "Don't Call Me Again" is a popular picture today. Young girls often communicate and date their lovers via mobile phones, the romance and sensation of which are unimaginable to their elders. Meanwhile, the shade of lemon yellow is also the most popular color today, which highlights the transparent, pop and sexy fashion of our time. I overlap these two pictures of different times into one image, to express the realest changes in our time, which are the stories we used to live and we are living.
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