Painting: “In the Labour Camp”

“In the Labour Camp” by Robert Counts (Oil on canvas, 34”w x 22”h, 2005)

This painting was created to draw attention to the overall situation of the persecution against those who practise Falun Gong in China. In this painting I tried to depict the scene based in a forced labour camp, because in western society many people who shop regularly may find that everything is made in China these days. Who are those people that make those products and what kind of treatment do they receive?

In fact, the evilness and brutality suggested in this painting towards Falun Dafa practitioners cannot even compare the real life methods of torture that happen on a daily bases to them. In the last 56 years or so of Communist rule in China the Party has used the most unfathomable approaches in maintaining its power and keeping their people in fear. Since the persecution of Falun Dafa began in 1999 and especially after not obtaining their goal of "eliminating Falun Gong in three months", the Chinese Communist Party has used every conceivable torture method, both mental and physical, to destroy a practice that once flourished in China.

Unfortunately, even though documentation points to this persecution as being nearly, if not the, worst in history, the worlds people are unaware. This is mostly due to the huge amount of propaganda distributed en-masse by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the vested interests that people all over the world have in China, making medias unwilling to report. It is hoped that this painting will help people realise the truth of the situation in China.

About the Artist

I graduated with a BFA in Illustration from the Massachusetts College of Art in 2002. Since graduating I have trained with a classical painter in Maine with teachings passed down from the Renaissance period. After training for a period of time and drawing steadily, I decided to create this piece to let more people know about the persecution and tried to explain it from an angle that hasn't been hit on too often in people’s efforts to raise awareness about the persecution in China.

Though the painting is rendered after having spent a long time on it, it is still a painting done with a limited degree of expertise. To be honest, this is one of my first true oil paintings after my training, so it s a bit immature. True artists go through hours and hours thorough years and years of extensive training to achieve perfection in their work.