Qin Ga is interested in the ways in which the map of the Chinese Communist Party's historic Long March (1934-35) has become a reference point for Chinese identity, and is carried as a memory in the body. Communicating with Long March Project artists from his studio in Beijing, Qin employed a tattooist to record the progress of their 'Walking Visual Display' 2002 tour as dots and routes on a map of mainland China tattooed on his back.

Qin's tattoo was left unfinished when the artists called a halt to their expedition after reaching site 12 of the historical Long March (Luding Bridge, Sichuan province). Three years later in 2005, Qin decided to complete the remaining journey to site 23 (Yan'an) himself. Travelling with his tattooist Gao Fend and three camera operators - Gao Siang, Li Ding, and Mei Er - Qin embarked on a difficult journey through the snowy mountains, grassy plains and remote villages immortalised in the history and mythology of the Long March.

This ambitious work uses video and photography to connect the intimate territory and experience of the body to a powerful social history and public space. The new stories Qin collects on his travels point to the personal, creative and local events underpinning the experience of communism in China. To Qin, whether the Long March is understood as a retreat or a heroic journey, it is still a profound story of bodies transformed.