"Childhood friends are getting fat, and our society is also getting fat," Chinese contemporary artist Liu Xiaodong said of his 30 years' experience of taking photos. Since 1984, Liu has been training his camera on family members, friends, strangers, and the wider social landscape.

Chinese celebrities have also appeared before his lens, including film directors Wang Xiaoshuai and Zhang Yuan; rock stars like Cui Jian and Luo Qi; and artists such as Chen Danqing and Zhang Xiaogang.

All have been Liu's close friends since the 1980s. Another thing that unites most of them, which is obvious when seeing the photos from across the years, is that they are putting on weight.

Liu has also recorded sights that chart the wider changes the country has seen, with scenes such as a truck full of pigs or a bloody slaughtered sheep's head on the roadside.

A poster for the exhibition

Chinese contemporary artist Liu Xiaodong

Now these photos, as well as paintings by Liu, are being presented in an exhibition titled Childhood Friends Getting Fat - Moving Image of Liu Xiaodong 1984-2014 at Minsheng Art Museum. The exhibition features over 1,000 photos taken by the artist between 1984 and 2014.

"I'm not a professional photographer," Liu said. "I take photos mainly in order to find source material for my paintings. It is also an effective way to detach myself from wider society."

Through Liu's pictures, one can see not just his progression as an artist, but also see the greater changes in Chinese society over the past three decades.

A mirror of society

According to Ai Min, curator of the exhibition, Liu has delineated two different worlds through his photos. One is the world in which he has gathered together his family and friends as subjects for his art; and the other focuses on broader society. Ai said the two are linked by the fact that all important aesthetic aspects arise from Liu's observations and by making use of daily life.

photo Roadside

Roadside was taken in 1985 in a bicycle repair shop when Liu was a student at the Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA) in Beijing. A bicycle wheel stands on an old wooden stool, giving it a strong association with Marcel Duchamp's Bicycle Wheel from 1913.

According to Liu, 1985 was one of the most active years for the Chinese art world, as knowledge of Western contemporary art spread rapidly.

"Many art students knew Duchamp well, including of course his famous piece, Bicycle Wheel," Liu said. "Interestingly, such a scene could be seen in any bicycle repair stall on the roadside of any Chinese city, so I thought it was really funny and took a photo." 

Posed like a leader

Among a series of Liu's photos from 1994 named Pale Fat Man in Shicha Lake in the Winter (Shicha Lake  is a historic lake in Beijing), there is a full-length portrait of an elderly man standing under a fir tree on the lakeside, looking into the distance.

photo Pale Fat Man in Shicha Lake in the Winter Photos: Courtesy of Minsheng Art Museum

Liu was fascinated by the man's pose as he saw it as reminiscent of the pose Mao Zedong would strike in many of his portraits. "If you ask many Chinese people if you can take a photo of them, they will gaze into the distance like Chinese leaders, especially Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai, would do. These leaders' manner of speaking also influenced a huge number of Chinese people."

Even now, when Liu goes back to his hometown of Jincheng in Jinzhou, Liaoning Province and talks with old friends there, he finds that many of them still speak like these venerated leaders.

"They seldom say what is in their hearts, but speak as if they are at a formal meeting," Liu said.

Artistic practice

Liu, who is based in Beijing, has been traveling extensively to paint and take photos since 2005, with destinations including the Yangtze River's Three Gorges, Hotan in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, Indonesia, and Israel. He also goes back to his hometown every year to record the changes there.

Through this period, he has been followed by crews making a series of films about his life and work. These are also being screened at the current exhibition. They include Hometown Boy made in 2011, directed by Taiwanese director Yao Hung-i with Hou Hsiao-hsien (the internationally famous Chinese director from Taiwan) serving as executive producer. It records Liu's life in his hometown, Jincheng. Other films include A Family of Cuba from 2009; Liu Xiaodong in Hotan from 2012; and Liu Xiaodong in Indonesia from this year, all of which were directed by Beijing director Yang Bo.

Ai Min wrote in an article about Liu's exhibition that it takes courage for the artist to set up his easel and canvas beside a construction site or in the Gobi Desert. Here, the courage refers to not only the courage to conduct art, but also the courage to confront life. "Just as Edmund Husserl (the German philosopher) told us, 'Just look! Don't think! Observe and get to know the world with our own eyes.'" Ai wrote.

Date: Until July 31, 10 am to 6 pm (closed Mondays)

Venue: Minsheng Art Museum

民生现代美术馆

Address: Bldg F, 570 Huaihai Road West

淮海西路570号F座

Admission: Free

Call 6282-9287 for details