Shen Jiawei, one of Australia’s foremost painters, was born in Shanghai a year before the Chinese Communist Party came to power in 1949. For ty years later, Shen moved to Australia, at the time of both the Tiananmen Square uprising and the birth of his daughter, Sydney. Now, nearly twenty years later - Shen Jiawei is taking us back to China. It’s a journey of rediscovery and reflection, a journey through which we’ll get to know and admire a unique and interesting artist. As well, Shen will give us a personal and intimate insight into a China that is still a mystery to most Westerners. From being a Red Guard during Mao’s Cultural Revolution, to painting tourists at Darling Harbour, to being Artist in Residence at Sydney Grammar, to living near the sunny shores of idyllic Bundeena, Shen Jiawei has come a long way. It’s a journey vigorously signposted and reflected through many paintings and photographs.
Directed by Esben Storm
