‘Tears of Eros’ by Tian Tai Quan
I had the opportunity to catch the ‘Tears of Eros‘ exhibit at the Three White Walls by Tian Tai Quan while at the Mailbox in Birmingham, England. The pieces were all very moving and provided a powerful contrast between people, their sexuality and the environment. If you are interested, I encourage you to visit the website below in order to view some more provocative pieces (includes partial nudity).
Tian is noteworthy for the way in which he depicts his tough subject matter with great poetry and thoughtful composition. In his photographs, Tian challenges the taboos of the Cultural Revolution, such as music, sexuality and leisure.The period of history that Tian portrays in his various series of photographs remains largely unacknowledged in the Chinese consciousness; Tian’s artworks are considered important in China for being amongst the first to point that out.
For example, “Fluttering”, represents the haunting of a period when music was strictly forbidden: the photograph is taken in the only preserved Red Guards graveyard in China, a burial ground for the Chinese soldiers of different factions who were massacring one another during the in-fighting of the Cultural Revolution. Another example is the “Totem Recollection” series, which clearly portrays the impossibility of the enforced absence of sexuality from Maoist culture.
The manner of Tian’s artworks makes clear that sexuality and vitality are the triumphant and glorious heroines, proclaiming that they can never be successfully smothered or submerged, that they will emerge regardless of our efforts to suffocate them.
