Country. Hoe the fields

Author: Li Lei
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-01-01
Features: We created this series titled "Collective Memory." The series is divided into four volumes, and we attempted to clarify the different details of urban and rural memories through these images and texts. Each volume is named "Performance," "Wilderness," "Painted Skin," and "Hoeing." This compilation reflects our confidence and arrogance: with such an arrangement, different readers will find their own memories in the corresponding visuals and texts. This is not meant to be obscure; what we seek is participation. Focusing on participation has become a necessary attitude in dealing with major events. Memory is like this. As symbols that cannot fade away in the life backdrop of every individual, memory is either a detail or a symbol, becoming the reason for this compilation and reading. Memory is dynamic; it gradually loses its sharp edges over time. We need to inventory these once-clear edges so that they remain more deeply in our lives before or during the process of weathering. We can always find the shadows of ourselves or our ancestors in these images and texts. In memory, we revisit these shadows and their backgrounds. In this revisiting, we awaken: we are still on the way. Revisiting helps us uncover the deep imprints of the times. The result of our individual revisiting is that we find commonalities in our growth. We are revisiting in the name of the collective. This kind of revisiting holds profound and far-reaching significance. Some images and texts form the specimens of our revisiting. Revisiting gradually brings us closer to the lights—urban or rural.