THIS GLORIOUS LIFE
In 1992 two historic events took place in China: Deng Xiaoping announced the glorification of wealth, and the first McDonalds opened in Beijing. Since then China has increasingly been in the grip of modernisation and the country has undergone enormous changes. In his staged and digitally manipulated photographs Qingsong Wang (b. 1961) visualises how centuries-old Chinese cultural traditions make way for the Western consumer identity. Many of his images refer to patriotic paintings and propaganda films. He introduces modern attributes and symbols into these historical presentations.
