Photo : courtesy of the artist & Blindspot Gallery, Hong Kong
Commemorating a Social Truth
5.16 Notice (2017 –) is a testimony to Beijing-based photographer Mo Yi’s ongoing interest in unravelling social injustices and urban realities in post-Cultural Revolution China. In this installation, fifty-two black and white archival and propaganda images depicting many facets of this political movement are displayed side by side, forming a large rectangular mosaic. Repeated throughout the photographs is the widely recognizable figure of Chairman Mao, with his signature hand wave, as seen during his many public appearances. Such symbolic images are surrounded by others showcasing propaganda posters, revolution masses, and intellectuals and party officials being subjected to public ridicule.
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