| Description |
1 online resource (streaming video file) (54 min. 42 sec.) ; 325881471 bytes |
| Summary |
Goodbye Revolution is the story of acclaimed Chinese-Australian artist Jiawei Shen's journey from the revolutionised China of the 1980's, to the quiet beach town of Bundeena, Australia. The documentary explores the universality of Shen's work and spirit, which has transcended the boundaries of both country and race. Jiawei Shen was born in 1948 in Shanghai, China. After showing promising talent in his early 20s, he decided to cultivate his skills and build a solid career as an artist. However this dream was cut short when the Cultural Revolution engulfed China in 1966. Under Communist rule, schools were closed down and students and intellectuals were shipped out of the cities and ordered to work on the land. As a result, Shen was left to teach himself the craft that would become his livelihood years later.With the death of Mao in the late 70s and a new pragmatic leadership in place, the art school doors were reopened allowing Shen to study for two years at the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing. Although Shen's art was well received in his homeland (with a few national awards under his belt), he decided to make the trip abroad to Australia to seek out a new life for his wife and unborn child.Shen arrived in Sydney in 1989, leaving his pregnant wife behind and with very little money in his pocket. For the next two years he made his living sketching portraits for tourists in Darling Harbour, and prepared to be reunited with his wife and child - which would eventually happen in 1992.Displaced from his homeland, Shen found new historical themes to reflect the migrant experience in Australia, and through his art, conveyed the ongoing dialogue between his Chinese self and the Australian that was growing within. Today Shen is well known in the art world and has had his work displayed at galleries in New York, Shanghai and Canberra. His portraits have been selected on numerous occasions to compete in the annual Archibald Prize for Portraiture in Australia. . (Commissioned by SBSi, in English) (Documentary) |
| Event |
Broadcast 2011-08-20 at 15:30:00 |
| Notes |
Classification: PG |
| Subject |
Archibald Prize.
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Painters -- Biography.
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Painting -- Exhibitions.
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Portrait painting -- Themes, motives.
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Revolutions in art.
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Australia.
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China.
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| Form |
Streaming video
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| Author |
Gittoes, George, contributor
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Jiawei, Shen, contributor
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Sayers, Andrew, contributor
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Storm, Esben, director
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Yang, Shao Yi, contributor
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