Chinese Acrobatics in Manhattan - Museum of Natural History
Li Yousong
李尤松
Production date
2014
Object Detail
Media
chalk on paper
Measurements
60 x 110 cm
Notes
Chinese Acrobatics in Manhattan 2014 series depicts a legendary story of Aihua, the leading performer of the Chinese Acrobatics troupe, who escapes from a kidnapping and overcomes many difficulties to return to the troupe. The fictional story happened in 1972 in Manhattan, which was also when Li Yousong’s father travelled to the United States as the band conductor of the Shenyang Acrobatic Troupe. Through Aihua’s journey, the artist represents scenes in Manhattan and New York he imagined and remembered while his father described for him. In Chinese Acrobatics in Manhattan - Museum of Natural History, the protagonist is fighting against a gangster on top of a giant elephant specimen under dim lights, which is in his signature drawing style that merges a romantic narrative and the aesthetics of nostalgic surrealism.
Accession number
2019.035