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Lot Essay
In the post-Cultural Revolution era, Chinese artists have been critically engaged with interpreting history and looking forward. Xue Song creates this deliberate cultural discourse between the old and the new through negative space left behind and through the incorporation of charred leftovers from the 1990 fire that burned down his studio and his entire collection of artworks. For Xue Song, the canvas becomes a form of mourning, a remembrance of the past, but also a hope for transcendence and rebirth.
In Mao Zedong, Xue Song appropriates a silhouette of Mao with a mixing of photographs and magazine cutouts. On the inside of the silhouette, burnt black-and-white photos of Mao overlap and overwhelm into this political imagery while on the outside, cartoon magazine cutouts add an element of kitsch and everyday life to the work. Through Xue’s creative composition, this work becomes a cultural discourse between the political and everyday, between the formal and kitsch, between the revolutionary language of Mao and the contemporary consumer cultural language.
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Condition report
A Christie's specialist may contact you to discuss this lot or to notify you if the condition changes prior to the sale.
The condition of lots can vary widely and the nature of the lots sold means that they are unlikely to be in a perfect condition. Lots are sold in the condition they are in at the time of sale.
The work is unframed. There is lifting of paper on the top edge in the upper left corner and upper right corner, and the bottom edge of the lower left corner. There is lifting of paper on the turning edge of the left side, measuring approximately 4.5 cm. There is a loss of paper on the turning edge of the right half of the upper edge, measuring approximately 0.3 x 2.2 cm. There are traces of brown paper adhered to the paint layer, occasionally throughout the work. There is a minute accretion in the upper left quadrant.
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Lot 712Sale 16313
Mao ZedongXUE SONG (CHINA, B. 1965)Estimate: USD 6,000 - 8,000
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