The Totem Recollection series is one of Tian Taiquan’s most iconic collections of images. Here a half naked female draped in a PRC uniform floats amidst a red sea of images of Chairman Mao. Each of these images of the Chinese leader was collected by the artist during the Cultural Revolution, a time when Mao’s head stood as a symbol of an entire nation. The viewer is not sure if this gi... More

The Totem Recollection series is one of Tian Taiquan’s most iconic collections of images. Here a half naked female draped in a PRC uniform floats amidst a red sea of images of Chairman Mao. Each of these images of the Chinese leader was collected by the artist during the Cultural Revolution, a time when Mao’s head stood as a symbol of an entire nation. The viewer is not sure if this girl is dead or alive, merely that she is buoyed afloat by these totem images. Totem Recollection confronts the notion of collective memory in relation to China’s recent political past and questions the manner by which history dictates this story. To make this work Tian combines hundreds of photographs together to make one powerful image.