Art Exhibit -- Uncompromising Courage
“坚忍不屈的精神”艺术展




1. Waist Drum - Heaven and Earth in Jubilation
In many major cities around the world, people who practice Falun Gong participate in parades to celebrate traditional Chinese culture. The artist has drawn celestial beings playing amidst the clouds, echoing the unified beat from below.   Artist: Xiaoping Chen
Year: 2003
Material: Color Pencil on Paper
Original Size: 32.5 in x 41 in (82.5cm x 104cm)
CD No: 2
File Name: C09S0189_RT16.tif

2. Lotus Candle
Numerous candlelight vigils have been held around the world to remember Falun Gong practitioners who have died from torture. The lotus flower is a symbol of enduring beauty and purity in Chinese culture because it rises from the murky bottom of a pond.   Artist: Xiaoping Chen
Year: 2004
Material: Oil on Canvas
Original Size: 40 in x 39.5 in
CD No: 2
File Name: C09S0197_RT16.tif

3. Liu Chengjun
Mr. Liu Chengjun was a Falun Gong practitioner from northern China. In March 2002, he was sentenced to 19 years in prison for his involvement in broadcasting programs that exposed the brutality of the persecution against Falun Gong on Chinese television. After 21 months in prison, he was tortured to death. Demonic and monster-like images on the floor represent the horrors he endured while in detention. He is bathed in warm, golden light that represents a resilient faith.   Artist: Kathy Gillis
Year: 2004
Material: Oil on Canvas
Original Size: 32 in x 57.5 in
CD No: 2
File Name: C09S0198_RT16.tif

4. Force Feeding
Once in jail and subjected to brutal torture, brainwashing and/or forced labor, prisoners of conscience have no means of appeal other than a hunger strike. Prison guards are often threatened with losing their jobs if problems such as hunger strikes occur, so they use force-feeding as a form of torture. During force feedings, guards hold down the victim and pry open the mouth with metal clamps. They then force a course rubber tube down the esophagus or insert a tube through the nostrils. They then pour in different substances: sometimes a mixture of water and cornmeal, sometimes a concentrated salt solution, other times they use things like hot chili paste. The point is not to feed and nourish but to inflict pain to break the will. Such methods are extremely dangerous and are a common cause of death.   Artist: Weixing Wang
Year: 2004
Material: Oil on Canvas
Original Size: 22 in x 30 in
CD No: 2
File Name: C09S0200_RT16.tif

5. Inhumane
Falun Gong practitioners who have escaped or been released from prisons have reported experiences such as this one, where prison guards are submerging a man's head into a bucket of human feces. One of the guards covers his own nose because of the odor.   Artist: Xiaoping Chen
Year: 2004
Material: Oil on Canvas
Original Size: 22 in x 30 in (56 cm x 76 cm)
CD No: 2
File Name: C09S0203_RT16.tif

6. Come Back Daddy
Come Back Daddy is based on the situation of a mother and daughter who are friends of the artist. The young girl, Fadu, holds a commemorative picture of her father, Chen Chengyong, who died from torture because of his practice of Falun Gong. Fadu and her mother, Zizheng Dai now live in Australia. Their story has been reported in international media.   Artist: Weixing Wang
Year: 2004
Material: Oil on Canvas
Original Size: 22 in x 30 in (56 cm x 76 cm)
CD No: 2
File Name: C09S0205_RT16.tif

7. Psychiatric Abuse
To turn public opinion against Falun Gong, China’s state-run media disseminates false propaganda that claims people who practice Falun Gong will turn psychotic. The policemen in this picture inject psychotropic drugs into the woman because she refuses to give up her beliefs. The drugs may cause slurred speech, paralysis or even death. "Reeducation classes" often accompany such treatment. The light in the picture represents that even with such means, it is impossible to change a righteous heart.   Artist: Xiaoping Chen
Year: 2004
Material: Oil on Canvas
Original Size: 40 in x 30 in
CD No: 2
File Name: C09S0207_RT16.tif

8. Smoke and Ash
Besides an iron and cigarettes, prison guards have been known to use red hot iron pokers that burn all the way to the bone on people who practice Falun Gong. Jiang Zemin, the former leader of China who is responsible for the perseuction of Falun Gong has decreed that "no means are too excessive" to eliminate the practice.   Artist: Zhiping Wang
Year: 2004
Material: Pastel on Paper
Original Size: 39 in x 27.5 in (99 cm x 70 cm)
CD No: 2
File Name: C09S0211_RT16.tif

9. Tiger Bench
This piece depicts a common torture method used to inflict severe, prolonged pain. Bricks are stacked beneath the feet while ropes tying the legs down are pulled taut, bringing the legs to the point of breaking. The artist has given both men an ethereal halo – one bright, one dark and ghostly. The stark difference suggests what may be awaiting both men after this lifetime based on the choices they make during their lives.   Artist: Zhiping Wang
Year: 2004
Material: Pastel on Paper
Original Size: 39 in x 27.5 in (99 cm x 70 cm)
CD No: 2
File Name: C09S0213_RT16.tif

10. Torture of a Woman
Accounts by female prisoners of conscience who have lived through torture in Chinese detention centers detail horrendous physical and sexual torture by not only prison guards, but prison inmates as well. Women who practice Falun Gong have been known to have been stripped naked and locked into male prison cells.   Artist: Zhiping Wang
Year: 2004
Material: Pastel on Paper
Original Size: 39 in x 27.5 in (99 cm x 70 cm)
CD No: 3
File Name: C09S0214_RT16.tif

11. Abuse
This picture is a true story about an American woman who traveled from her home to appeal to the Chinese government to stop its human rights abuses. When police found her talking about Falun Gong to Chinese citizens, they arrested her, physically abused her, and expelled her from China. The woman is one of the many non-Chinese practitioners from around the world who do as much as they can to help their fellow practitioners in China.   Artist: Zhiping Wang
Year: 2004
Material: Pastel on Paper
Original Size: 37 in x 25.5 in (94 cm x 65 cm)
CD No: 3
File Name: C09S0215_RT16.tif

12. Like a Stone
This torture method jams sharp bamboo sticks underneath the fingernails. In this depiction, even though the pain is excruciating, the man endures.   Artist: Zhiping Wang
Year: 2004
Material: Pastel on Paper
Original Size: 39 in x 27.5 in (99 cm x 70 cm)
CD No: 3
File Name: C09S0216_RT16.tif

13. Messenger
On an early morning, a young woman delivers an important message to the town’s people. The red Chinese characters read “Falun Dafa is Good.” The media in China is controlled by the government and spreads propaganda to create hatred towards Falun Gong. The practitioners use peaceful ways to defy the injustice but do so carefully. Some who have been caught hanging up such signs have been tortured to death.   Artist: Xiqiang Dong
Year: 2004
Material: Oil on Canvas
Original Size: 48 in x 36 in (122 cm x 91 cm)
CD No: 3
File Name: C09S0217_RT16.TIF

14. Banner
The young mother is sewing a banner with the words “Falun Dafa is Good” in both Chinese and English. These are positive words, but they are also considered words of protest because countless practitioners of Falun Gong have spoken or written them in defiance of the efforts of Chinese authorities to tell them otherwise. The healthy baby in the foreground can be seen as a sign of hope, perhaps that the peaceful and life-giving nature of Falun Gong will prevail.   Artist: Xiqiang Dong
Year: 2004
Material: Oil on Canvas
Original Size: 48 in x 36 in (122 cm x 91 cm)
CD No: 3
File Name: C09S0221_RT16.TIF

15. The Sky Speaks
This painting illustrates the artist’s personal experience. When China’s former leader, Jiang Zemin, visited Houston, Texas in October 2002, thousands of people who practice Falun Gong went there to appeal for an end to the persecution. During their appeal, practitioners withstood several days of unseasonably cold weather and heavy rains. The practitioners refused to be affected by the weather and stood their ground. Finally the storm cleared and a huge rainbow appeared in the sky.   Artist: Kathy Gillis
Year: 2004
Material: Oil on Canvas
Original Size: 32 in x 57.5 in (81.5 cm x 146 cm)
CD No: 3
File Name: C09S022_RT16.TIF

16. Mock Trial
This painting is about a mock trial held in Ottawa, Canada in which Jiang Zemin was tried and convicted for genocide of Falun Gong and crimes against humanity. The impetus behind the mock trial were more than a dozen actual lawsuits that have been filed around world by victims of Jiang's genocide of Falun Gong.   Artist: Kathy Gillis
Year: 2004
Material: Oil on Canvas
Original Size: 32 in x 57.5 in (81.5 cm x 146 cm)
CD No: 3
File Name: C09S0223_RT16.TIF

17. Cultivation
The brother and sister in this painting are reading Zhuan Falun, the main text of the Falun Dafa cultivation practice. The spinning, red light above is an expression of the book's enriching teachings. The book has been translated into more than twenty languages.   Artist: Kathy Gillis
Year: 2004
Material: Oil on Canvas
Original Size: 32 in x 57.5 in (81.5 cm x 146 cm)
CD No: 3
File Name: C09S0224_RT16.TIF

18. Beacon
Beacon depicts a scene from the daily life of a mother and daughter who practice Falun Gong. The mother is reading the book of Falun Dafa late at night as her young one falls asleep. A "Falun," the symbol of Falun Gong, serves as a backdrop. It consists of four taiji (yin-yang signs) and five swastikas, which represent a Buddha. Swastikas can be found throughout the East on Buddhist temples and statues.   Artist: Xiqiang Dong
Year: 2004
Material: Oil on Canvas
Original Size: 36 in x 48 in (91 cm x 122 cm)
CD No: 3
File Name: C09S0226_RT16.TIF

19. Red Wall
This work records the personal experience and internal turmoil of the artist, Kunlun Zhang. Professor Zhang was imprisoned in China for three months, during which time he experienced physical and mental torture, including brainwashing. The red wall represents the persecution of Falun Gong in China, which is so oppressive that it makes China seem like one big prison. The crack in the wall indicates that despite the red wall’s menacing and seeming invincibility, its collapse has already begun.   Artist: Kunlun Zhang
Year: 2004
Material: Oil on Canvas
Original Size: 36 in x 48 in (91 cm x 122 cm)
CD No: 3
File Name: C09S0231_RT16.TIF

20. Homeless
This painting depicts a scene in which a little girl comes home from school only to find her parents gone. The two pieces of white paper on the door are official notices stating that the house has been condemned by the “610 Office,” a Gestapo-like organization set up specifically to target Falun Gong. The red paper on the door reads “Truthfulness, Compassion, Tolerance.”   Artist: Daci Shen
Year: 2003
Material: Oil on Canvas
Original Size: 36 in x 48 in (91 cm x 122 cm)
CD No: 4
File Name: C09S0232_RT16.TIF

21. Unwavering Spirit
This painting is based on a true story as captured by Ian Johnson, a reporter from The Wall Street Journal who won a Pulitzer Prize for articles he wrote while stationed in Beijing. Perhaps his most famous piece, written in 2000, began with these words: "The day before Chen Zixiu died, her captors again demanded that she renounce her faith in Falun Dafa. Barely conscious after repeated jolts from a cattle prod, the 58-year-old stubbornly shook her head. Enraged, the local officials ordered Ms. Chen to run barefoot in the snow. Two days of torture had left her legs bruised and her short black hair matted with pus and blood, said cellmates and other prisoners who witnessed the incident. She crawled outside, vomited and collapsed. She never regained consciousness, and died on Feb. 21.”   Artist: Zhongqi Yao
Year: 2004
Material: Oil on Canvas
Original Size: 48 in x 36 in (122 cm x 91 cm)
CD No: 4
File Name: C09S0234_RT16.TIF

22. Golden Lotus
The painting depicts a mother and child who were both tortured to death for their practice of Falun Gong. The are draped in a cloth that reads Truth, Compassion, Tolerance. The inspiration behind this painting perhaps came from a story that raised an international outcry. A young mother and her seven-month-old baby were both tortured to death after they were arrested. Autopsy reports revealed that the baby had been hung upside down and his skull had been crushed.   Artist: Daci Shen
Year: 2004
Material: Oil on Canvas
Original Size: 69 in x 43 in
CD No: 4
File Name: C09S0235_RT16.TIF

23. Memorial
This painting is in remembrance of some of the hundreds of Falun Gong practitioners who are known to have died under the violent repression. There are many more people who practice Falun Gong who are missing and unaccounted for after they were taken away by authorities.   Artist: Zhongqi Yao
Year: 2004
Material: Oil on Canvas
Original Size: 110 in x 42 in (179.5 cm x 107 cm)
CD No: 4
File Name: C09S0237_RT16.TIF

24. Fulfilling Vows
The heavenly beings in this painting represent all races, colors and cultures. Falun Gong is practiced in over 60 countries around the world and its practitioners also represent every ethnic group and every walk of life. Although Falun Dafa first originated in China, the search for truth and enlightenment is universal.   Artist: Xiqiang Dong, Xiaoping Chen & Tingyin Shi
Year: 2003
Material: Oil on Canvas
Original Size: 79 in x 47 in
CD No: 5
File Name: C09S0268_RT16.TIF

25. Appeal
This painting is inspired by a photograph taken of thirty-three practitioners of Falun Gong from all over the world who coordinated a peaceful appeal to the Chinese Government in Tiananmen Square. Moments after this photograph was taken, they were promptly ushered into police vans and expelled from China.   Artist: Yixiu Zhou
Year: 2004
Material: Oil on Canvas
Original Size: 51 in x 64 in (130 cm x 163 cm)
CD No: 4
File Name: C09S0240_RT16.TIF

26. Justice
Heavenly beings look on as the representative of evil is extinguished. The work reflects an understanding that evil actions will result in retribution on a higher plane.   Artist: Weixing Wang
Year: 2003
Material: Oil on Canvas
Original Size: 52 in x 68.5 in
CD No: 4
File Name: C09S0242_RT16.TIF

27. Why?
This painting is based on a true story. The mother and son were arrested in China simply because they practice Falun Gong. Despite the beatings, the boy had no tears, only one question: Why? Why were they being detained? Why were they treated this way?   Artist: Weixing Wang
Year: 2004
Material: Oil on Canvas
Original Size: 20 in x 28 in
CD No: 5
File Name: C09S02721_RT16.TIF

28. Unmovable
The artist uses traditional Chinese painting techniques to show a woman in meditation who is unmoved by police trying to arrest her. Western-style angels restrain the policemen. The artist is no stranger to the violent and often insidious tactics used by Chinese authorities to break the human spirit. She was detained several times before she was finally able to escape from China.   Artist: Amy Lee
Year: 2004
Material: Chinese Painting
Original Size: 34 in x 55 in
CD No: 4
File Name: C09S0248_RT16.TIF

29. Positioning
This painting captures multiple images of peaceful appeals to the Chinese government on Tiananmen Square in Beijing. Falun Gong practitioners carry signs that read "Falun Dafa is Good" while policemen and plain-clothed guards violently arrest them. Heavenly beings from Eastern and Western traditions are represented.   Artist: Kunlun Zhang
Year: 2003
Material: Oil on Canvas
Original Size: 67 in x 117 in
CD No: 5
File Name: 3to1.jpg

30. Evil Policemen
Two of the policemen in this painting hold empty beer bottles, suggesting they are drunk as they beat the Falun Gong practitioner. The artist conveys that the policemen are indulging in their actions, which are encouraged by the Chinese Communist Party.   Artist: Kunlun Zhang
Year: 2004
Material: Oil on Canvas
Original Size: 40 in x 30 in (91 cm x 122 cm)
CD No: 5
File Name: DSC_0021.TIF

31. Spring Morning in an Old Town
Traditional Chinese painting techniques depict a spring morning in which townspeople wake to find walls posted with signs about Falun Gong. The people read them intently, perhaps seeing through the Chinese government's propaganda.   Artist: Ruizhen Gu
Year: 2003
Material: Chinese Painting
Original Size: 23.5 in x 6.5 in (72.5 cm x 20 cm)
CD No: 5
File Name: C09S0255_RT16.TIF

32. Turning the Great Law Wheel
This painting shows the founder of Falun Gong, Mr. Li Hongzhi, before an audience. "Falun" literally means Law Wheel, a term from Buddhist traditions. One of the meanings of the phrase "Turning the Great Law Wheel" is to teach about the Law or Way of the universe.   Artist: Kunlun Zhang
Year: 2004
Material: Oil on Canvas
Original Size: 82.5 in x 63 in
CD No: 5
File Name: DSC_0023.TIF

33. A Battle Between Good and Evil
The man and woman in the forefront hold signs that read "Truth, Compassion, Tolerance," and "The Law rectifies the universe." The spirits of the plainclothes policemen bow before their victims, suggesting that the police have been deluded by higher authorities into carrying out orders against their own conscience.   Artist: Zhiping Wang
Year: 2003
Material: Oil on Canvas
Original Size: 66 in x 79 in
CD No: 5
File Name: DSC_0024.TIF

34. Calling for Justice
This painting depicts a scence that can be seen in front of Chinese embassies and consulates all around the world. The women in this picture practice their meditation in front of the Chinese Embassy in Washington, D.C., calling for Jiang Zemin to be brought to justice for his genocide against Falun Gong. These women are retired and go to appeal there everyday, rain or shine.   Artist: Xiqiang Dong
Year: 2004
Material: Oil on Canvas
Original Size: 48 in x 36 in (122 cm x 91 cm)
CD No: 5
File Name: 218_RT16.TIF

35. Righteous Thoughts and Righteous Actions
The artist uses traditional Chinese painting techniques to present a scene from a moonlit night in a small village, where a grandmother and her grandchild post messages that tell the truth about the persecution against Falun Gong for their neighbors. The disc-like objects in the sky that “light their way” are Falun, the symbol of Falun Gong. The swastika or srivatsa in the middle is a 2,000 year-old sign from India for an enlightened being, a Buddha.   Artist: Ruizhen Gu
Year: 2003
Material: Chinese Painting
Original Size: 23.5 in x 6.5 in (72.5 cm x 20 cm)
CD No: 5
File Name: C09S0260_RT16.TIF

36. A Beauty is Coming
I can't see enough of this image to write anything about it. I don't have access right now to a larger image.   Artist: Zhuli Chen
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Material: Chinese Painting
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CD No: 5
File Name: C09S0260_RT62.TIF

37. In Harmony
This painting depicts a young woman in the fifth exercise of Falun Gong, “Way of Strengthening Divine Powers.” The clear water and blue sky reflect her tranquility and a feeling of union with heaven while in meditation. The four “cultivated infants (celestial beings)” play amidst an energy field.   Artist: Xiaoping Chen
Year: 2004
Material: Oil on Canvas
Original Size: 47 in x 69 in
CD No: 5
File Name: C09S02691_RT16.TIF

38. Pure Lotus
The woman in this painting practices the fifth exercise of Falun Gong, "Way of Strengthening Divine Powers." Lotus flowers blooming around her suggest the purifying effect of the meditation on both her mind and body.   Artist: Zhengping Chen
Year:
Material: Chinese Painting
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CD No: 5
File Name: DSC02346.JPG

39. Group Torture
The men torturing this young woman are Chinese prison guards and prison inmates, working in concert. The extreme weight on her lower abdomen severely inhibits her breathing and nearly immobilizes her whole body.   Artist: Zhiping Wang
Year: 2004
Material: Pastel on Paper
Original Size:
CD No: 5
File Name: DSC02348.JPG

40. "SOS" Walk
Traditional Chinese brush techniques capture a classic Chinese landscape painting. Walking through the mountains are men and women taking part in a human rights campaign entitled "SOS" that reached around the world to raise awareness about the genocide of Falun Gong in China.   Artist:
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Material: Chinese Painting
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CD No: 5
File Name: DSC02349.JPG

41. Relentless
This is a scene from a Chinese detention center, where prison guards are given directives to “transform” people who practice Falun Gong; that is, force them to renounce their beliefs. When brainwashing classes do not work, practitioners are subjected to relentless beatings, sometimes to the death.   Artist:
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42. A Tragedy in China, No 1
A wife weeps beside her husband, who has been tortured to death in a brainwashing center. He holds in his hand a document that he was to sign, a pledge that defames Falun Gong. Whether or not he actually signed the document remains a question for the viewer to ponder.   Artist:
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43. Gate of Heavenly Peace
Blank--etchings have accompanying poems   Artist: Edition: 4 of 6
Year: 2004
Material: Photo Etching
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