Skip to Main Content

Artwork Page for My Left Hand (with Young Mao)

Details / Information for My Left Hand (with Young Mao)

My Left Hand (with Young Mao)

2004

Qi Sheng 盛奇

(Chinese, b. 1965)
China, 21st century
chromogenic print
Framed: 99.1 x 68.6 cm (39 x 27 in.)
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 2012.102
© Qi Sheng
Impression: 7
Location: 230 Photography
Copyright
This artwork is known to be under copyright.

Download, Print and Share

Print

Description

In 1989, a pro-democracy protest in Tiananmen Square was brutally quashed by government forces, followed by suppression of avant-garde art activities and exhibitions. Performance artist Qi Sheng chose self-imposed exile when he could not continue making his art. Before leaving, he cut off the little finger of his left hand. He buried it in a flowerpot so that when his body went to Europe, his soul would remain rooted in China. Returning after ten years away, he photographed that hand cradling tiny portraits. This image of Mao Zedong suggests the origins of the political forces that led him to such a desperate act. “I am not only an artist,” said Qi, “I am an observer and recorder of history.”

My Left Hand (with Young Mao)

2004

Qi Sheng

(Chinese, b. 1965)
China, 21st century

See Also

Visually Similar by AI

    Contact us

    The information about this object, including provenance, may not be currently accurate. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about this object, please email collectionsdata@clevelandart.org.

    To request more information about this object, study images, or bibliography, contact the Ingalls Library Reference Desk.

    All images and data available through Open Access can be downloaded for free. For images not available through Open Access, or any image with a color bar, request a digital file from Image Services.