Russia: Ms. Zhang Cuiying's Painting Exhibition is Held in Irkktsk

Ms. Zhang Cuiying's Chinese Brush Painting Exhibition at the Artists Centre in Irkktsk, Russia, with its theme of “Peace, Beauty and Pounding Hearts,” was formally inaugurated at 4 p.m on March the 18th. It is the first in a series of painting exhibitions to be held in Russia by Ms. Zhang. The exhibition lasted two days, and on the second day Ms. Zhang gave a painting demonstration.

The features of this female Australian artist’s creations are the use of “Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance” as foundations for her art, as well as making her works redolent of traditional poetry by adding some imaginative verses of classic Chinese poems. Critics have described her paintings as “elegant, graceful and exquisite, without worldly sophistication.”

Zhang Cuiying began learning Chinese brush painting in China. Her exhibition in Russia this time was to expose the unreasonable persecution she suffered in China because she practises Falun Gong. At the opening ceremony, she stated that Falun Gong is an ancient cultivation practice of body and mind, which has been suppressed in Mainland China since July 1999. In the year 2000, Ms. Zhang was unreasonably imprisoned in China for eight months because of her belief in “Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance.” She underwent various cruel tortures, and was even incarcerated in a cell for male inmates. Nonetheless, she demonstrated with her actions to the people of the world, that Falun Gong practitioners’ belief in “Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance” can never be changed.

Before practising Falun Gong, Zhang Cuiying was tormented by illness to the point that she could not pick up her brushes or walk freely. Through practising Falun Gong, she quickly regained her health, and resumed her artistic work. Since she was rescued by the Australian government and human rights organizations, and came back to Australia in 2000, this female painter from China began her human rights tour around the world. She has traveled to over forty countries with her exhibition. Her experience of eight months of persecution in China due to her belief in “Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance,” is in sharp contrast to the traditional inner grace manifested in her paintings. By means of holding these painting exhibitions, she wants to tell more people all over the world that the Jiang regime’s persecution of Falun Gong is ridiculous. She hopes that people are able to truly distinguish the kind from the wicked, the good from the bad, and the beautiful from the ugly after viewing her paintings. In the meantime, she urges all governments, NGOs and private citizens to come together to stop this brutal persecution.

Many local media reporters attended the exhibition. After visiting the exhibition, a famous senior painter from Irkktsk said, “Our western-style painters in Europe just don’t know what to create nowadays. They are simply engaged in imitation and repetition, and their thoughts are confused. Visiting the exhibition today, I perceived something new, which has inspired my thoughts tremendously, and I have found a way out in my own painting.”