Father's Stage

At the end of 2015, my father fell seriously ill. I got the news in Beijing at that time, then rushed back to my hometown overnight; however, my father had already passed away at my arrival. Being too late to see my father for the last time became a lifelong regret for me. After returning to Beijing, I was immersed in the sorrow of reminiscing about my father for a long time; therefore, I decided to create a piece of artwork in memory of him. My artistic life is inseparable from my father’s cultivation, nor from the nourishment of local opera. It was my father who led me into the world of drama, allowing me to appreciate its charming elegance and igniting my artistic talents and immense passions for expressing the life. When creating this work, I deliberated it over and over. Although it’s in memory of my father, I did not depict him particularly in the painting. My father’s stage belongs not only to him, but also to tens of thousands fellow villagers once living on the torrid land. To intensify the emotional elements, I decided to include my wife and son (the two people on the far right) in the painting as well, symbolizing the past and present of local opera, perhaps in hopes of the local opera shining brightly in the years to come forever.