About Sheng Qi's Art

"My art is my memory.
I am not only an artist; I am an observer and recorder of history.
I use my brush to record the history of China in my lifetime, since 1965.
These events are truly important because they influence hundreds of millions of chinese people and have shaped my life.
So i continue to record them as truthfully as i can in red and black."


Sheng Qi

 

 

 

About him:
1965:Born in Anhui Province, China
1988:Graduated from the Central Academy of Art and Design, Beijing
1989:Lived and worked in Italy (1989-1992)
1998:Graduated with an MFA from Central Saint Martin’s College
 of Art and Design, London

Beijing-based artist Sheng Qi is probably best known for his act of personal defiance following the events in Tiananmen Square in June 1989: he cut off the little finger of his left hand.
Since then, he has incorporated the image and concept of this self-mutilation into his work, which includes photography, painting, sculpture, and performance art.
His recent work continues in the vein of subtle but firm subversion and quiet political protest.

More on: His personal website

Sheng Qi recent exhibition at Hua Gallery in London, video: