By Tenzin Nyidon
DHARAMSHALA, June 20: Badiucao, an exiled Chinese dissident artist based in Australia on Friday showcased an exhibition titled ‘Tell China’s Story Well’ at a state-run museum in Warsaw, Poland. The exhibition aimed to draw attention to China’s human rights abuses, despite facing pressure from the Chinese Embassy to cancel the event.
The promotional image of the exhibition showed President Xi Jinping eating human flesh. Ahead of the opening of the exhibition, Badiucao threw eggs filled with paint at a portrait of Mao Zedong as a tribute to protestors who were arrested in the Tiananmen Square protests for doing the same. The political artists described his performance as a continuation of their struggle. “They should be celebrated as heroes instead of treated as prisoners or enemies of the state,” the artist stated.
Badiucao whose work encompasses political cartoons, installations, street art, and performances gained international recognition for his provocative style, particularly denouncing human rights abuses and suppression of free speech in China. As a vocal critic of the Chinese government, in 2018, an exhibition planned in Hong Kong featuring his art was abruptly cancelled due to threats made against the artist and his family by the Chinese government.
Badiucao’s political engagement began in 2007 when he came across a leaked documentary about the 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre which contained information that had been heavily censored by the Chinese government. This revelation served as a turning point for Badiucao, inspiring him to use art as a means of defiance against dictatorship and to raise awareness about the systemic abuses perpetrated by the Chinese Communist Party.
His activism has not only attracted threats and pressure towards him personally but has also impacted his family in China. Initially, he chose to remain anonymous, using a pseudonym to protect his identity and his family from potential harm. However, he later made the decision to accept media interviews on camera, revealing his face and identity to the world. By doing so, he said he aimed to amplify his message and draw attention to the human rights abuses occurring in China. Badiucao’s artwork has become a prominent force in raising awareness not only about human rights abuses in mainland China but also in Tibet, East Turkestan (Xinjiang), Hong Kong, and Burma (Myanmar).
In recognition of his activism, Badiucao was awarded the 2020 HRF Václav Havel Prize for Creative Dissent by the Human Rights Foundation. This prestigious award honours individuals who use their artistic talents to challenge and resist authoritarianism, further highlighting the impact of Badiucao’s work in advocating for human rights and freedom of expression.
