A Chinese artist, Gao Zhen, known for his provocative sculptures, has been detained by authorities in Hebei province, for creating sculptures deemed “insulting” to “revolutionary heroes and martyrs” and to the legacy of Mao Zedong and his regime, founder of the People’s Republic of China.
The artist’s brother, Gao Qiang, stated in a post on Facebook that he was arrested on August 30 while he was visiting family in China after emigrating to the United States two years ago.
According to his brother, Qiang, around 30 police officers stormed their art studio in Sanhe City on August 26, confiscating several artworks and detaining Gao Zhen.
The brothers have been internationally acclaimed since the 1980s for their works, including “Mao’s Guilt” – a bronze statue of the former Communist dictator kneeling remorsefully, and “The Execution of Christ” – a statue depicting Jesus facing down a firing squad of Maos.
The sculptures in question are said to have depicted Mao in a manner that Chinese officials deemed disrespectful.
The Chinese government has a history of suppressing art that challenges its authority or questions its narrative.
In 2021, spoofing or insulting China’s revolutionary “heroes and martyrs” was criminalized, carrying a penalty of up to three years’ imprisonment.
Zhen had previously avoided serious punishment by holding secret exhibitions, but his decision to emigrate to New York in 2022 was due to the “deteriorating environment in China”.
Mao Zedong, often called Chairman Mao, the founder of Communist China in 1949, led the country through the tumultuous Cultural Revolution, resulting in over a million deaths.
The Gao Brothers’ father was labelled a class enemy and dragged off to a place that was “not a prison, not a police station, but something else,” where he died, Zhen told The New York Times in 2009.
Prominent Chinese artists and creatives have written an open letter calling for Gao Zhen’s release, stating that his detention repeats the persecution of the Cultural Revolution.
“Today, the Sanhe police department seems to see Gao Zhen’s artistic works as evidence of crime, repeating the persecution of the Cultural Revolution,” the letter said.
The Sanhe Public Security Bureau has declined to comment.