"Dead Idols, Not Quite Idle" (已故偶像,依旧很忙)

Liu Dao

I would like you to think about your last serious idol. The last person you thought was a living god who made you change the way you dressed and styled your hair and walked and talked and the subtle affectations you had to practice so hard for years just to forget weren’t yours as your crept into middle age wondering “why the hell do I do that” then remembering in a warm wave of nostalgia and dull embarrassment that they aren’t yours so you stop them but then you wonder what parts of you and your behavior didn’t come from some old hero and you aren’t sure. Even though you probably buried all youridols long ago their ghosts still quite convincingly mimic boisterous good health each time you flip your hair or flick your cigarette or grin or chuckle. In those little moments they’re alive again. Sort of.

ARTIST Liu Dao 六岛
MEDIA Chinese papercut (Jian Zhi 剪紙)black stained teakwood frame
EDITION Unique
DATE Made in island6, Shanghai 2015
SIZE 66(W)×50(H)×5.5(D) cm

Title: "Dead Idols, Not Quite Idle" (已故偶像,依旧很忙)
Artist: Liu Dao
Year: 2015
Dimension: 66x50x5.5x
Category: Other