Snapshot 1999
- WEI Dong - Creator
Object details
- Accession No.
-
2004.287
- Date Created
-
1999
- Department
- Dimensions A
-
32.5 x 131.5cm (sight); 47.8 x 162 x 2cm (framed)
A: (sight) 32,5 x 131,5 cm
A: (framed) 47,8 x 162 x 2 cm - Media Category
- Medium
-
Ink and pigment on paper
- Place Created
- Credit Line
-
Purchased 2004. Queensland Art Gallery Foundation Grant
Wei Dong is trained in the art of traditional Chinese landscape painting, which he fuses with Western painterly techniques of the human figure. In Snapshot, the background is painted in the style of an historical Chinese scroll painting, while the two human figures appear as trespassers in the sacred realms of nature and tradition. One sleeps while the other gleefully counts the money in his hand.
Rich in luminous colour and texture, the figures languish in a state of undress. Chillies, biscuits, tea, postal stamps and a high-heeled shoe with nails in its heel are scattered around the small exhausted party.
The use of such portentous symbols is characteristic of Wei's practice. He reflects on the collision between China's historical respect for nature, and its past, and the burgeoning influx of personal material wealth in Chinese society.
Wei's painted characters satirically communicate a hedonistic revelry involving lust, power and economic gain. China's recent determination to enter the global market has produced a rapidly growing consumer population, eager to believe in the possibility of democracy in an era of diminishing Communism. Wei critically addresses this phenomenon in his work.
Copyright and sharing information
Citations
Rights information
© The artist
Reproduction requests
Images of artworks on this website may be used for research, study and other related exceptions as defined by section 40 of the Copyright Act 1968 (as amended) without applying for specific permission. All other uses of the content of this site (where applicable). Refer these requests to reproductions. For more information, see copyright and reproductions on the QAGOMA website.
Re-use metadata
Share
HELP UNLOCK THE COLLECTION
Bring more artworks to life with digital archives, immersive 3D experiences and stories about artists, their communities and practices.