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JAMES HYMAN GALLERY
Sun Liang (b.1957)
Please scroll down for further information. Sun Liang (b.1957) Icarus and Nine Suns Oil on canvas 180 x 120 cms (70¾ x 47¼ inches) 1989 Literature: Sun Liang: A Painter's Journey, James Hyman Gallery, London, 2008, (cat. 1), illustrated p.11 and p.44. Exhibition History: Genesis of Image: Sun Liang’s Oil Paintings, Shanghai Art Museum, Shanghai, China, 2006 The artist explains: "This is a painting created by anger and despair after the 1989 special event (Tiananmen Square). The theme was chosen from Greek mythology: Icarus and his father, Daedalus attempted to escape from prison with wings made of wax. But Icarus flew too close to the sun, which melted his wings. He fell into the sea and died. The Chinese mythology is a story of Houyi shooting ten suns. In the ancient time, there were ten suns in the sky, beasts on the ground, and the people cannot live with it. And then there was a hero called Houyi. He shot nine suns with arrows and killed the beast, so that people can live afterwards. I was in the mood of despair. By concealing two irrelevant myths, it implies the sun can burn those who yearn for freedom to death, while people can shoot the sun as well. This piece like many other works at that time is not allowed to be exhibited in the country (China) for a long time. " Interview with James Hyman, December 2007. Please click here to contact us about this item, or if you wish to buy or sell a work by this artist. | ||||||||
