Artwork Description

FANG LIJUN

2016, 2016
woodcut print on paper (framed)
244 × 366 cm (96.1 × 144.1 in)
edition 8/12

Fang Lijun presents a monumental woodcut composition populated by his iconic bald-headed figures, rendered in dense repetition across a vast pictorial field. The figures, characterised by open mouths and upward gazes, generate a rhythmic visual structure that oscillates between uniformity and individual variation. The expansive scale amplifies the collective presence of the crowd, transforming the surface into a field of aggregated human expression.

The work is firmly situated within the discourse of Cynical Realism, a movement that emerged in China during the early 1990s. Fang’s practice is defined by the use of stylised figuration to explore themes of social identity, anonymity, and psychological tension within mass culture. The high-contrast palette and graphic clarity intensify the visual impact of the composition.

Created in 2016, the work extends Fang’s longstanding investigation into crowd imagery as a metaphor for post-social transformation in China. The repetition of the bald-headed figure functions both as symbol and abstraction, dissolving individuality into collective pattern while preserving emotional immediacy.

2016 stands as a significant large-scale articulation of Fang Lijun’s mature visual language, consolidating his position as a central figure in contemporary Chinese printmaking and conceptual figuration.