Chinese artist and filmmaker Zhang Bingjian is standing in his studio with an installation of over 1,600 portraits of corrupt Chinese officials. The project is called “The Hall of Fame” and is comprised of paintings Zhang commissioned by Chinese artisans all over the country based on photos he collected from the internet of the most corrupt officials working in the Chinese government to date. By commissioning artisans instead of using his own hand Zhang is also commenting on the issue of craft verses factory labor in China.
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Artists in China that address political affairs face the risk of being singled out and harassed by the Chinese government. Chinese conceptual artist Ai Wei Wei is a famous example of an artist whose work incited the Chinese government to take action against him. As a result Ai Wei Wei suffered a near fatal beating and just recently was missing for three months after being abducted by Chinese secret services.