Father’s Stage II

My father's life was deeply intertwined with drama, which greatly influenced my artistic career. For many years, whenever there was a grand opera in the village, my father was always busy in working behind the scenes. In my memory, he never sat down to listen to a play, so I always thought he didn't understand the opera. One year, I asked my father, "What do you think of the singing of Liu Zhonghe, the famous star of Henan Opera? He said, "Great singing!" I asked, "What's so good about it?" He replied, "His singing is very easy." I understood then that my father knew drama well; “easy” is a slang from our hometown, meaning very relaxed. Isn't the highest realm of art valued for its ease and naturalness from the high proficiency? In his later years with a wheelchair, my father could no longer contribute his modest efforts to the local opera. From then on, I would rush back to my hometown whenever a local opera performing at the temple fair every year, to collect materials for my paintings and to take the opportunity to accompany my father to relive those passionate years once more. The concept of this work focused on three generations together—my father, myself (standing behind), and my son (wearing a deep blue and white patterned hat)— symbolizing the family bonding tied with dramas, and hoping that the flower of drama on that warm soil will forever thrive and have successors. Therefore, I thought, although I cannot make my father immortal, I can express my utmost respect and remembrance for him through a painting.