Reflection of Changing Chinese Society in Qi Zhilong’s Art

23rd February, 2020

Qi Zhilong is a Chinese artist most well known for his work during the Political Pop movement of the 1990s.  With a self-admitted ‘obsession’ (Supangkat, 2009) with the exploration of women and beauty, Qi paints mainly female subjects which he uses as a metaphor for individuality and femininity.  His work over the years provides an interesting commentary, as it reflects changing values in China after the Cultural Revolution.  This is not without inciting controversy, however, especially with the portrayal of women.

The new ‘passion for the West’ (Li, 2007) that came with the Open Door Policy saw a loss of traditional Chinese ideals in society.  Furthermore, after the events of the Tiananmen Square Massacre in 1989, more people were losing faith in the government which for so long had gone unquestioned.  The growing contemporary art scene provided an avenue for artists to express social dissidence.  Political Pop describes the style of artwork that developed in post-Mao era society, satirising the avid consumerism of the period.  Often elements of social realism from the days of the Cultural Revolution were used in conjunction with consumer iconography.  Some of Qi Zhilong’s work (such as the Images of Consumption series) falls under a subcategory of Political Pop called Gaudy Art, a term coined by renowned art critic Li Xianting (1999) to describe the use of bright, clashing colours and kitsch elements, parodying the style of Western pop-art.

Qi Zhilong’s Studio, 2019, photograph by Darren Jorgensen.

According to Qi, his work comments on the changing values in society after the Cultural Revolution ended.  His first series Images of Consumption, from 1992 to 1995, depicts women in bathing suits in front of a pop-art style background of flowers and images of Mao. When looking at the large scale of the women in relation to Mao, Li (2009) interprets this as placing Mao in a ’subservient’ position to the individual.  This is significant because under communism the collective was primary, sacrificing individual needs for the common good.  This sense of individualism came from the Western idea that every person can do the best for themselves.  The bathing suits in the series are colourful and unique, while the body language of the women is carefree and uninhibited.  The women depicted in the series can be compared to how the people are now free to express themselves post-Communism, rather than being in a society where non-conformity was not allowed.  While a good commentary, the question can still be raised as to why he chooses to only paint women and not men in this representation of the whole society.

Instead of being seen to represent all people, the women could be read to represent more specifically the change in society for women themselves.  Any display of femininity and sexuality had been previously repressed.  During the 1980s there had been an increase in feminism in China, as women claimed to have been unfairly held to the male standard, asserting that ‘equal does not mean same’ (Meng, 1993).  In fact in Daoist belief, men and women are seen as the yin and yang – different, yet complementary and equally important (Croll, 1978).  Thus, it is possible for the role of the female subject in Images of Consumption to be interpreted as commenting on this movement in embracing what makes a woman different.

QIi Zhilong, Chinese Girl, 1998, oil on canvas, 65 x 54 cm.

After these works, Qi departed from Gaudy art and started his new series of portraits, China Girl (1995 to 2009).  These portraits are of women in military uniforms.  But instead of depicting a generic soldier, their femininity is emphasized.  Their long hair is shown, either in plaits or let down.  This is in contrast to Communist times where women had to do up their hair and hide it within the hat.  As stated before, women were held to the male norm, so any signs of femininity were denounced.  Additionally, the scale of the portraits is large, previously only reserved for Mao himself (Schoeni Art Gallery, 2005).  This could comment on how society’s values have changed and displaced the Communist values.  The juxtaposition of the military uniform could symbolise the ‘preservation of “revolutionary traces”’ (Li, 2009), such as the government’s control over the people.

China Girl is most commonly read as an exploration into beauty.  Curator Jim Supangkat (2009) suggests that Qi’s work ought to be read through the philosophy of aesthetics which is not very widespread in Western contemporary art.  This suggests the art should be appreciated based purely on how pleasing it is to the senses – how the arrangement of elements in relation to each other creates satisfaction.  In a particular stream of this philosophy, Paul Crowther (2004) says that there are two cases in which an identifiable subject would be pleasing.  The first is admiration in being the ‘perfect specimen of its kind’.  The second case being pleasure aroused from deeming the subject as useful. Both versions, however, imply that the woman of the painting is an object meant to be viewed and judged.

Qi has also received some criticism from Chinese art critics for making use of stereotypical Chinese iconography to appeal to foreign collectors, although he asserted in an interview (2019) that it was never his intention. These paintings of Chinese women may well rely on a kind of Orientalism, the idea that Chinese women are an exotic asset to acquire.  The body language of the women is feminine and ladylike, head tilted slightly down and gaze meekly upwards.  This is also often accompanied with a flirtatious smile.  Perhaps this has an imperialistic appeal, that the women are stereotypically submissive.

In more recent years, Qi has reverted to painting women in undergarments.  According to Qi, these women are representative of the sex worker class, the most vulnerable and weakest class in society.  Their bodies are very exposed and open, while being faceless showing that their personal identity doesn’t matter.  In an interview with Qi (2019), he says that the sex workers are a metaphor for the lack of ownership.  He gave the example that even if someone owns a piece of residential land in China, it still must be returned to the state after 70 years, so the idea of ownership is illusive.  Similarly, the sex workers are not in complete control of their bodies.

Qi Zhilong’s Studio, 2019, photograph by Darren Jorgensen.

In one particular piece, a woman is shown in her underwear looking dejected, body slouched in defeat.  Strewn next to her on the ground is a woman in Mao uniform, as in the China Girl series.  However here she is not portrayed as beautiful and feminine – she looks to be dead on the floor.  The words at the top say, ‘You have to get in step with the ticking of the world.  Then all will be right’. Being ‘in step’ is a reference, perhaps, to being under government control – marching in step with the crowd.  Supposedly if you follow the rules you will be looked after, but the figures in the painting contradict this idea.  Qi is able to use his art in this way to comment on China’s political situation whilst stepping around censorship.

Qi Zhilong’s portfolio of work provide an insight into the political, social and cultural landscape of China in the post-Communist era.  Images of Consumption comments on the influx of Western ideas and a societal shift towards consumerism and individuality.  China Girl takes some of these ideas and explores them further, especially regarding the themes of beauty and femininity.  These two series document aspects of social change in China after the Cultural Revolution.  Qi’s newer work has a more political theme and criticises government control over people.  The development of Qi Zhilong’s art is an interesting reflection on the development of Chinese society.

Bibliography

Croll, E. (1978). Feminism and socialism in China. New York: Routledge.

Crowther, P. (2004). Critical aesthetics and postmodernism. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

L. Wen and L. Xianting, Ouh La La Kitsch! - Gaudy Art, Hunan: Hunan Fine Arts Publishing House, 1999.

L. Xianting, Interviewee, Transcript of an interview of Li Xianting with Asia Art Archive. [Interview]. 6 November 2007

Qi, Z. (2019). Interview with UWA students, Beijing. 21 June 2019

Qi, Z. and Supangkat, J. (2009). Qi Zhilong. Jakarta: Timezone 8.

Qi, Z., Au, J. and Schoeni, N. (2005). Qi Zhi Long =. Hong Kong: Schoeni Art Gallery Ltd.

Yue, M. (1993). Female Images and National Myth. Gender Politics in Modern China: Writing and Feminism.