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Self-portrait, Harbin, Heilongjiang province, 17 July 1967 (from 'Red-colour news soldier' portfolio) 1967, printed 2008

Artwork has not been digitised or not available due to pending copyright clearence, thus not currently available online
Accession No.
2008.320.004
Date Created
1967, printed 2008
Gallery location
Not on public display
Department
Contemporary Asian Art
Dimensions A
51 x 36.7cm
Edition
ed. of 25
Media Category
Photograph
Secondary Media Category
digital
Medium
Digital print on Hahnemühle Digital Fine Art 100% cotton rag acid-free paper
Credit Line
The Kenneth and Yasuko Myer Collection of Contemporary Asian Art.
Purchased 2008 with funds from Michael Sidney Myer through the Queensland Art Gallery Foundation

At the outbreak of the Great Cultural Revolution in the Spring of 1966, Li was a photographer for the Heilongjiang Daily. Lack of film, marauding Red Guards and a political dictate against photographing ‘negative’ scenes, all conspired to reduce him to the level of a propaganda functionary. Li, however, proved resourceful, taking care to keep his meticulously documented ‘negative’ negatives hidden under the floorboards of his one-room apartment. Risking his own safety, Li produced a detailed photographic record of the tumult, including numerous self-portraits. In doing so, he was not only recording history, but also leaving behind a trace of his own existence in those turbulent years.

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An installation view from ‘Looking Out, Looking In’ featuring Davida Allen's Mother swinging her baby 1989 / © Davida Allen and Vincent Namatjira's Albert and Vincent 2014 / © Vincent Namatjira/Copyright Agency, QAG, March 2023 / Photograph: J Ruckli, QAGOMA

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