Artwork of  Liu Fei

Bald heads are outstanding and unique within our society, many times casting the color rebellion and excitement. Artists like to act out the role of a rebel, incorporating themes of individualism in their art life. Therefore, when wearing one's hair long was the standard fashion for male artists, shaving one head expressed individualism. During the New Wave art movement, around 1985, the trend for Chinese male artists was long hair, yet during the 1990's, many of them shaved their heads creating a new fashion. Moreover, female artists have done the same.

Over time, the image of the bald head left a deep impression on art. In 1985, Geng Jianyi painted his bald headed smiling heads; in 1989, there were the bald, careless figures of Fang Lijun. Bald heads became a striking symbol of that time. In accordance, the number of artists painting bald figures increased. Liu Fei admitted that his inspiration came here. More recently he has taken noticed of most magazines having images of beautiful women decorating the cover, attracting the attention of viewers with their luring poses. “I think that a baldheaded woman is attractive. It is not a new invention, but makes more news.”

Liu Fei series, Taking Your Photo, are figurative works with young women as his models. In one sense, the women are the barometers, representing “ modernity”. The women in his paintings are all bald, creating a sense of freshness, individualism and coolness. During the 1920s, young students were known for their emancipation and revolutionary ideas. They tested the limits of feudalism, ardently participating in social activities. In his paintings, Liu Fei dresses his characters in the fashion of the twenties, emanating a feel of the rebellion and liberation over the last 100years. The exaggerated expression and gesture of his figures range from impudent, coquettish and indifferent, much to the contrary of the traditional virtues of Chinese ladies; innocent, tender and elegant. In particular the dark red laughing lips juxtapose with the black and white background creating the contradiction to the constraint smiles of a traditional woman.

The reason that Liu Fei calls his works Taking Your Photo, possibly originated from his impressions on the abundance of beautiful women in commercials and on magazine covers. These images originated with a photographer, the photographer's boss, and the boss's bos s… Of course, also responsible are the beautiful women before the camera's lens. Together ,these people create a new mode of taste, influencing the behavior of the general public. Pay attention to the people walking on the street, in particular the dress and make-up of girls. In doing so, we may understand the force of so-called fashion. People tend to imitate the dress and make-up of models, consciously or not. The series Taking Your Photo, is really about taking a picture of fashion's influence, rather than oneself. This phenomenon is making people, including the artist, feel helpless. However, these women in Liu Fei's works are still beautiful. Although their expressions are exaggerated, such as exposing their teeth when smiling, they look attractive and tender, making one feel funny, excited and agitated all at the same time. Liu Fei is only painting his impressions on beauty, it is disturbing pretty, it's beautiful, but disturbing.

This is a standard of beauty at this time, even as values are broken, confused, and rebuilt, reality continues to be perplexing, but full of possibilities. The bubbles are constantly broken, but still reflect all the colors. Each individual is working for themselves, but finding no road to follow. This bring a feeling of intoxication never before experienced. Liu said, “ What I want to express is the common feeling of people, that is that reality is funny, exciting, nauseating and boring.”

The figures in Zhang Hongbo's paintings are also bald. While Liu uses the bald head to describe society, Zhang Hongbo uses it as a reflection himself. Zhang said that he would like to express, “ the multifaceted complexity we encounter in an individual life; the temperament, desire and experiences. I want to show all this as a reflection of myself. Therefore , I reproduce, seduce, and represent myself in the confused relationships between myself, my lover, my kin, and my friends, all possibly hiding sin, darkness, love or concern for it.”