Saturday 2 November 2013

Artist: Liu Feng Hua (China)







Since the terracotta warriors were discovered in 1974 by farmers digging for a well in Xian, this life sized and lifelike army has become an icon of China's past, instantly recognizable all over the world. The terracotta warriors were the 8,000 strong underground army buried in Emperor Qin Shi Huang Di's tomb (221 - 207 BC), to protect him in his afterlife.

Liu Feng Hua's sculptures are a wry, witty look at his country's history and future post-Cultural Revolution direction. Two thousand years separate China's first emperor and Mao. But Liu's modern ceramic warriors can be seen as an artistic statement of the morally complicated legacy of these two leaders - both great revolutionary leaders and yet, both great criminals, who have left a lasting legacy on China.

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