Obsessive memories 2002

Liu Jianhua’s sculptures comment on the traditional association of porcelain with refinement and wealth. These figures, devoid of head and arms, are identified as female by their dress — the Chinese cheongsam or qipao. This historical symbol of wealth and status is objectified in these works as hollow and faceless, yet perversely seductive and desirable. It is this tension that Liu Jianhua is attentive to, creating sculptures that encapsulate a sense of vulgarity and beauty. While the economic reforms of the 1980s opened China’s commercial markets to Western trade, they also brought tremendous change and conflict. These works acknowledge the inevitable rise of a consumer-oriented society in China examining changing cultural values in a society undergoing rapid transformation.