Maleonn
Born 1972, Shanghai; lives in Shanghai
Chinese Story #8, 2005
Digital photograph, 24 x 20 in.
© Maleonn, courtesy of Craig Scott Gallery, Toronto

Description
Chinese Story #8 shows a person wrapped in a cloak of plastic and holding a longbow. The figure appears to have been shot by arrows, but is either unhurt or has died and returned to the world in spirit form. The scene’s dreamlike narrative is enhanced by the figure’s translucency, made all the more ghostly by the mist and rain that dematerialize both the body and the surrounding setting. The arrows, says the artist, “represent missives of history and tradition,” their penetration of the plastic reflecting his wish to attack the superficiality of contemporary Chinese culture.

Community Response by Toni Friedman
“Something I find striking about this photo is that you can tell the figure beside the water has been covered from head to toe in plastic. He has tried to conceal himself though no one has tried to move him (or couldn’t move him). Some people may have tried to deny or cover up that he is there, but they cannot erase his existence. When I first looked at this, the first things I saw were the arrows and how the man gave the picture a very haunted look. But after I had studied it for awhile, I realized the figure was more lonely than anything and that the hauntedness of it was what made the picture beautiful.”