Lot 171: Ling Jian

Strangle it Signed in Chinese and English and dated 'Ling 2007' on the reverse.

200 x 180 cm (78 3/4 x 70 7/8 in).

Oil on canvas.

2007

Private Collection, London

Strangle it?is?typical?of?Ling?Jian's?bold,?beautiful,?and?highly?sexualized?exploration?of?the?notion?of?the?‘Communist?sister'.?On?the?one?hand,?the?gagging?of?the?mouth?addresses?the?repression?of?the?political?voice,?and?on?the?other,?the?bloated?lips?suggest?a?suppressed?feminine?sexuality.?Strangle it?typifies?Ling?Jian's?masterful?depiction?of?the?feminine?as?an?expression?of?his?own?discontent?with?the?effect?Communism?has?had?on?China?both?culturally?and?politically.