Lot 32: SHAO YINONG & MUCHEN

B. 1961 & B. 1970
THE ASSEMBLY HALL (WUSHIZHONG), THE ASSEMBLY HALL (YANGZHENG), THE ASSEMBLY HALL (SHANCHUAN) (GROUP OF THREE WORKS)

each: 48 by 66 1/4 in. 122 by 168 cm

each signed in Chinese, embossed with artist's seal of Shao Yinong, titled, numbered 5/8 and dated 2003 on the reverse

chromogenic prints

Each work is numbered 5 from an edition of 8. A certificate of authenticity issued by the artists accompanies each photograph.

EXHIBITED

Beijing, China Art Archives & Warehouse, The Assembly Hall, 2004
Hong Kong, 10 Chancery Lane Gallery, Assembly Halls, 2005

LITERATURE

Eikon, 48/49, 2005, pp. 42-51, illustrated in color (Shanchuan only)

NOTE

The husband and wife team of Shao Yinong and Muchen travelled to 21 different provinces in mainland China and photographed 30 assembly halls left over from the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976). The series poetically captures a wide array of spaces, ranging from decrepit barns to brightly renovated restaurants and crowded sewing factories. The empty halls presented here appear nostalgically beautiful even as they evoke the tragic intensity of one of China's most turbulent periods.