Arts and Entertainment, 3rd prize
The Return of the Native
Huimin Kuang
<em>Huang Jianglu</em> newspaper
<em>Huang Jianglu</em> newspaper
19 December, 2009
Portraits of Mao for sale alongside other paintings in Dafen Village, a suburb of Shenzhen that is renowned for its wholesale production of cheap oil paintings.
Huimin Kuang
Kuang Huiming was born in Baotou City, Inner Mongolia in 1964, and took up photography in 1989. Seven years later, he was honored as one of the Top Ten Photographers in Hunan Pro...
Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
Portraits of Mao for sale alongside other paintings in Dafen Village, a suburb of Shenzhen, in Guangdong that is renowned for its wholesale production of cheap oil paintings. Artworks depicting Mao Zedong, the founder of the People’s Republic of China, are experiencing a resurgence in popularity. During Mao’s ‘Cultural Revolution’, erecting statues of him was seen as a way of showing loyalty. The slightest defect could incur strict penalties. Most statues of Mao came down when the ‘Cultural Revolution’ ended in 1977. But there are many people who still regard him as a demigod and believe that the images can bring good fortune or dispel evil. Mao’s birthday, on 26 December, is marked by public processions and festivities.
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