Li Wei

This book is the first monograph to be published on Li Wei, one of the most original of the latest generation of Chinese artists. It contains photography and performance art, including the series Falls, provocative performances in which he is seen falling into a frozen lake or stuck out of the windscreen of a car. Li Wei’s artistic activity and production stand out for the use of universally comprehensible language and symbols, able to stimulate reflection on social and political themes. As explained by Eleonora Battiston in her introductory text: So Li Wei expresses many ideas and thoughts about individual experiences and social problems, but his present will is that humanity could stop for thinking […] he thinks that now we are in such a terrible and degraded situation that is indispensable, for not falling, stopping and understanding where we are going to arrive. Innovations, developing and economic growth make man flying high, giving him the illusion of superiority and omnipotence, but during this fast and confused flight we don’t know which one is the arrival and we don’t have a parachute.

Li Wei, born in Hubei in 1970, has been based in Beijing since 1993. Li Wei is a multi-talented creator known both for his photography and performances and is among the few Chinese artists to be more acclaimed abroad than in their homeland.