The China Project

97 Three Decades: The Contemporary Chinese Collection YU Youhan Yu Youhan has been an influential artist since the mid 1980s, and a key figure of the Avant-garde in Shanghai. He was also one of the foremost figures in the provocative Political Pop movement — among the first ‘unofficial’ and experimental Chinese movements to reflect on the Cultural Revolution, and to attract international attention. 1 Yu’s work came to prominence in a series of groundbreaking exhibitions in the late 1980s and early 1990s. 2 The Political Pop movement was characterised by the appropriation and manipulation of the Cultural Revolution’s visual tropes, such as propaganda posters. Although the multicoloured prints fell into disuse once China began to open up to the West in the late 1970s, they penetrated every level of society and became a common means of venerating either Mao Zedong or the communist way of life. The posters originated from the colourful, floral New Year print or nianhua , which employed various elements of folk art and symbolism to express wishes for happiness and good luck. Both propaganda posters and nianhua were sources of inspiration for Yu’s Political Pop works. His work also critically reflects on Mao’s declarations that art was for the purpose of political instruction and for the pleasure of the masses — statements made at the Yan’an Conference on Literature and Art in 1942, where he expounded his cultural policy. The latter declaration, in particular, led to a number of art movements emphasising folk art during the Cultural Revolution. Yu gave expression to the contemporary social and moral concerns of Chinese society through his use of a bright palette and popular culture icons and symbols, such as the bicycle, renminbi (Chinese currency), playing cards and images of Mao. Yu has said that, ‘My work reflects the people of China, their spirits, pursuits and longings in a critical moment of rapid change and transition’. 3 Yu painted Flowery bicycle 1989 in July — a direct response to the events at Tiananmen Square in the preceding months — as a work of ironic propaganda. The Chinese script, which runs along the top of the image, translates metaphorically as: ‘When I’m riding my flowery bicycle, the future looks rosy’. Significantly, it is painted in white; the Chinese colour of mourning. This painting is unique within Yu’s oeuvre; he is commonly represented in major exhibitions with works featuring Mao. Interestingly, when the bicycle was first introduced to China in the mid 1800s, it was considered a public statement of wealth and modernity, often indicating that the owner had been educated abroad. In 1949, the communist government supported the bicycle industry by offering a subsidy on sales. Yu Youhan’s decision to paint what has since become a national icon representing liberation and progress — and a modern object that would have been owned by many who died in Tiananmen Square — is a telling statement, and perhaps a memorial to those who protested for their right to speak in favour of democracy. endnotes 1 Yu Youhan, interview with Francis Maravillas in Shanghai Star [exhibition catalogue], Casula Powerhouse, Sydney, 2007, p.69. 2 Including ‘China/Avant-Garde’, National Art Museum of China, Beijing, 1989; ‘China’s New Art Post 1989’, Hanart TZ Gallery, Hong Kong, 1993; ‘Mao Goes Pop’, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, 1993; and the Venice Biennale, Venice, 1993. 3 Yu Youhan, interview. Flowery bicycle 1989 Synthetic polymer paint on canvas / 104 x 143cm / Purchased 2007. The Queensland Government’s Gallery of Modern Art Acquisitions Fund