Description
FromDazibao photo series by Rémy Soubanère
Dazibao, literally “large print newspaper” in China is a poster written by a private citizen, dealing with a political or moral subject, and posted for public reading.
By extension, and in the figurative sense, the word is used to refer to unofficial publications.
The expression of public opinion through posters is a tradition in imperial China. Disgruntled citizens wrote or printed posters criticizing the imperial magistrate’s administration, which were placed in the city and even in the street in front of the court, the magistrate’s seat. The people gathered around the posters to comment on them.
It was in 1966, with the Cultural Revolution launched by Mao Zedong, that the Dazibao reappeared in China, and became an instrument of very official propaganda.
Hong Kong pro-democracy demonstrators and artists completely renew this tradition of political posters in so called “Lennon Walls” all around the city. The government decided to clean these in september, everyday protestor came with new posters. This was even called “The battle of Lennongrad”. This series shows what reveals the aftermath: collages of paper, glue and brillant political artworks.
