Rural · Hoeing 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 memory details of cities and rural areas through these images and texts. Each volume is named Performance, Wilderness, Painted Skin, and Hoeing, respectively. This compilation reflects our confidence and arrogance: with such an arrangement, different readers will find their own memory conspirators in the corresponding visuals and texts. This conspirator is not meant to be obscure; what we seek is participation. Focusing on participation has become a necessary stance in dealing with significant events. Memory is like this. As symbols that cannot fade away in the life backdrop of every individual, memory is either detail or metaphor, becoming the reason for this compilation and reading. Memory is dynamic; it gradually loses its sharp edges over time due to weathering. We need to inventory these once-clear edges so that they remain more deeply rooted in our lives, either before or during the process of weathering. We can always find the shadows of ourselves, our previous generations, or even our ancestors in these images and texts. In memory, we revisit these shadows and their backgrounds. In this act of revisiting, we awaken: we are still on the way. Revisiting helps us uncover the profound imprints of the times. The result of our individual revisiting is that we discover the commonality of our growth. We are revisiting in the name of collectivity. Such 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—whether urban or rural.