Country. Hoeing grain

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, forming a kind of conspiracy. This conspiracy is not deliberately obscure; what we seek is participation. Focusing on participation has become a necessary stance for us when engaging 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 a symbol, becoming the reason for this compilation and reading. Memory is dynamic; it gradually loses its sharp edges over time due to the wind of history. We need to inventory these once-clear edges, ensuring that they remain more deeply rooted in our lives before or during the process of weathering. We can always find traces of ourselves or our ancestors in these images and texts, revisiting these traces and their backgrounds in memory. In this act of revisiting, we awaken: we are still on the journey. Revisiting helps us uncover the deep imprints of the times. The result of our individual revisiting is that we discover the commonality of our growth. We are revisiting this collectively in the name of the group. 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.