The studio of Beijing-based artist Wang Peng, who has long been concerned about violent birth control issues and was planning an exhibition on the New Crown virus, was demolished. In an interview with our reporter Han Jie on Monday, Wang Peng discussed the circumstances of the demolition of his studio, his creative ideas, and the reasons why he was considered a “thorn in the side” by the Chinese Communist Party.
Reporter: Hello, Mr. Wang Peng. As far as I know, your studio was built on land leased in 2008, and the lease will only expire in 2028, but the government started threatening to demolish your studio in 2018.
Wang Peng: I’ve been fighting with them (the government) about the house for three years. At first, I sued the Pinggu District Court, but the court ruled against me; then I sued the Beijing Third Court, but I still lost. During this period of Time, I was concerned about Family planning and wanted to do an exhibition on the virus, but the government used various forms to suppress me, looking for all kinds of procedures that they considered “legal”, picking the winter and the days when the population was not allowed to move during the Epidemic. They came to my place at 7 o’clock in the morning (on the 29th) and broke all the glass with sticks, saying that the district mayor had signed for it (to demolish it).
Labeled as “unstable”
Reporter: You once mentioned in a media interview that the authorities felt you were an “unstable factor”, why were you labeled as such?
Wang Peng: Because I have exposed the voices and events of every victim of family planning in China. In 2016, I published the book “Fetuses Executed by State Policy” in the United States, which recorded many cases, including my friend’s personal experience, that is, a pregnant woman in their side, villagers reported over-birth, and the township government drove a car to catch her, and halfway through the arrest, the pregnant woman gave birth in the car, and the family planning cadres directly threw the child out of the car window and dropped it to death. I often cover these things, post pictures of them, publish books, exhibit these works online, and also comment on current events in China, such as the Zhang Zhan case, which is why the authorities have targeted me, saying that I am a troublemaker and a smear artist.
Reporter: You mentioned earlier that you have long been concerned about the violence in the implementation of family planning policies, and have used this as inspiration to create many works and published books. Why did you choose this topic, which is extremely sensitive to the government?
Wang Peng: When I used to go sketching, I found thrown away fetuses in the dumpster, on the riverside and in the hospital dumpster. In addition, I am also a victim of family planning. I want two children, but there is no way to have them; there are also victims of family planning around me.
Will continue to create under the fear
Reporter: Under the government’s constant suppression and the fact that the studio has just been demolished, I believe it has hit you very hard. So, will you continue to create?
Wang Peng: Fear and trepidation are definitely there, and the current environment in China may make me disappear at any time. But because of my own beliefs, dignity, art and ideas, I will definitely continue to go down the road, and there will definitely be many bumps in the road. I will still be concerned about the underprivileged, and my works on family planning will continue. In the future, I definitely want to do some exhibitions through various channels to bring the world’s attention to China and its 1.4 billion people, the disasters and humiliations they suffer under the existing system.
The Rise and Decline of Songzhuang
Reporter: In recent years, most of the outspoken artists in Songzhuang, where Beijing artists gather, have been “cleaned up”, and you were also expelled from Songzhuang Art Zone by the State Security in 2014. How do you see the rise and fall of Songzhuang? Do you think there is still room for freedom of speech and artistic expression in China?
Wang Peng: When I went to Songzhuang in 2003, Songzhuang was still in a relatively free state. At that time, Songzhuang artists received less information from the outside world, and the Chinese reality they reflected was only a hazy poetic kind. In fact, at that time, it was mainly because these artists did not have the spirit of resistance and freedom, and did not pay attention to reality, so the intervention of the State Security was also relatively small. Over time, especially in the past few years, the rise of artists such as Lv Shang, Wang Zang, Yan Zhengxue, Liu Yi, etc., brought out the problems arising from China’s reality, that is, the suppression and injustice to the people, faith and freedom, and only then did Songzhuang change, and only then did the State Security impose a massive blockade on Songzhuang and then expel the artists. Now it can be said that there is basically no space for creation, and this space is also reserved for those works that are not concerned with current issues and full of chicken Soup for the soul, and those works that truly reflect the reality of China have almost no space for display.
Reporter: Thank you, Mr. Wang Peng.
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