Existing comment:
Village Photograph 5 (Peasant Grandma)
Village Photograph 10 (Water Children)
The Cultural Revolution began in the spring of 1966, during Liu's final year of high school. Mao encouraged Communist youth, known as Red Guards, to participate in violent rebellion in order to purge China of "counterrevolutionary" influences. As violence escalated, Mao ordered high school and college students to the countryside to be "reeducated" alongside peasants. Liu was assigned to Dadu Lianghe, a village about fifty miles outside of Beijing, and formed strong bonds with the people who lived there. After earning their trust, she made her first photographic portraits with a Carl Zeiss camera that a friend had given her.
Liu's initial approach to photography was formal and imitated studio conventions, yet she eventually embraced a documentary style. Today, Liu looks back on her early experiences with photography as both "scary" and "exciting," especially given the restrictions that the Chinese government had placed on the medium.
Photographs, 1970–72
Collection of Hung Liu and Jeff Kelley |