Hong Lei
Born 1960, Changzhou; lives in Changzhou
After the Song Dynasty “Green Peach,” 1999
After the Song Dynasty Li Anzhong “Autumn Chrysanthemum and Quail,” 1998
After the Song Dynasty Zhao Ji “Loquat and Bird,” 1998
After the Song Dynasty “Lotus Growing out of the Water,” 1998
After the Song Dynasty Ma Lin “A Delicate Fragrance in Sparse Shadow,” 1998
Chromogenic prints, 11 x 11 in.
Private collections, courtesy of Chambers Fine Art, New York

Description
Each of Hong Lei’s vignettes has the title of a Song dynasty masterpiece, a way of paying homage to the aesthetic glories of the past. While startlingly beautiful, the images include dead birds or insects, symbolic casualties of the forces of social change in twentieth-century China. Hong Lei considers China’s ancient cultural attainments to be the core of the nation’s soul and laments, “There are not many people who still think about the relationship between the inner world of Chinese people and the blood running in their veins. We have lost what we used to have.”

Community Response by Xu Xiaolu
“This is a perfect combination of traditional Chinese painting and modern photography. Visually it’s beautiful art, yet, in the midst of any perfection is imperfection.”