Unmoved under Immense Pressure
Chin-Chun Liu
Silver Award
82 1/2 x 67 in
In a stunning, large-sized oil painting, Liu depicted the brave protagonist stands unmoved in the midst of brutal chaos, steadfast in her faith.
It was the story of Zhang Yijie, a practitioner of Falun Gong who refused to give up her faith in the face of brainwashing and torture at the Chinese labor camp.
“In the [radio documentary], she was not allowed to sleep, she was mentally tortured, they read notes from her family members who blamed her, and she had to work in the labor camps,” Liu said. “But because of her faith, she does not hate—not even the people who treat her like this. Without such faith there is no way to survive such suffering and torture—I was very touched. I wanted to draw her story.”
This is the first time Liu has worked on such a large painting.
“The surrounding is very chaotic,” Liu said. “The shades are bright and dark, contrasting between cold and warm, reflecting the positive and negative figures, reflecting the fact that no matter how chaotic the external world is, what means these disruptive forces use, a person of steadfast faith is unmoved. There is no way to influence her.”