The People in the Landscape (after Youyan Jinqiu Tu by Hou Dechang), 2022
cotton towel, coal dust, cigarette ash,
hot chili powder, flour
60 x 210 cm
This work reimagines Gold Autumn Scroll (幽燕金秋图, 1994), the monumental backdrop for state leadership in China’s Great Hall of the People. Depicting rivers and mountains (江山, Jiang Shan), the painting symbolizes both the landscape and the idea of the nation, embodying state sovereignty and territorial unity. Replicated here using ephemeral materials tied to everyday life, highlighting the contrast between state power and the fragility of individual existence. This juxtaposition questions whether sovereignty unifies or controls, reflecting on how national symbols can serve as both instruments of unity and mechanisms of dominance or erasure.
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