The China Project

91 Three Decades: The Contemporary Chinese Collection SHEN Shaomin In the mid 1980s, Shen Shaomin was one of a group of young artists instrumental in reviving the art of woodblock printing at the Acheng Print Studio in Heilongjiang Province where he worked. Acheng was one of the initial sites of early avant-garde art practice in China, and the print studio was regarded as a ‘free’ space and attracted like-minded young artists. The three prints in the Gallery’s Collection — Red storm , Against the wind and (Chimneys in Northern China) , all 1986, date from this period. Shen received a medal from both the Chinese Artists Association and the Chinese Print Artists Association for his ‘Sunflower’ series of woodblock prints, to which Red storm and Against the wind belong. Like many artists at the time, Shen was able to move away from the state-sanctioned political style, which relied heavily on Social Realism, to experiment with a broad range of styles and expressions. Red storm (also known by the alternative titles Wind and Moon in the sorghum ) depicts a fire in a field of sunflowers. During the Cultural Revolution, sunflowers symbolised loyalty to Mao Zedong and the Communist Party of China. Sunflowers always face the sun, and Mao was frequently referred to as the ‘red sun’, evoking images of the charismatic leader with the people clustered around him, their heads turned towards his benevolent light. In Red storm , the fire is destroying a crop of old and spent sunflowers in a blaze so intense that it obscures the sun. The print may be interpreted as alluding to the ‘blaze’ of communism and therefore regarded as a patriotic work. However, it could equally be said that, with this unconventional and modern-looking work, Shen was seriously pushing the boundaries of representation and political allusion. The red blaze is also evocative of blood; combined with the destruction of the field of flowers, it suggests the bloody ravages of Mao’s Hundred Flowers Campaign (1956–57) and the Cultural Revolution. The obscuring of the sun could also portent the end of Mao’s dominance, with the institution of the Open Door policy in the 1980s. Continuing the theme of sunflowers, in Against the wind , three flowers are shown against a black field, while a sickly green sky and pallid, dying sun occupy the top half of the image. Other works in the ‘Sunflower’ series also show the sun eclipsed and reduced, while the flowers (often blackened and damaged) increasingly dominate the composition. Both Red Storm and Against the wind show how Shen was, at the time, treading a careful path between the officially sanctioned art world and the increasing confidence of dissident art. (Chimneys in Northern China) is executed in a similar palette to Against the wind , showing chimneys in any industrialised Chinese city. While it resembles a dying world from a science-fiction novel, (Chimneys in Northern China) simultaneously retains the appearance of organic growth. In each of these works, winds of change are suggested and damaged growth revives, though history and the very recent past are not forgotten. endnote This essay was adapted from Claire Roberts, collection documentation, unpublished, 11 February 2007. opposite Against the wind (from ‘Sunflower’ series) 1986 Woodblock print, AP, ed. 3/10 / 49 x 48.2cm / Gift of Nicholas Jose and Claire Roberts through the Queensland Art Gallery Foundation 2008 above Red storm (from ‘Sunflower’ series) 1986 Woodblock print, AP, ed. 3/10 / 48.8 x 48.4cm / Gift of Nicholas Jose and Claire Roberts through the Queensland Art Gallery Foundation 2008