Artist Shi Guowei (b. 1977, Henan) is one to watch. Keen to draw a parallel between events described in Western Old Master paitning and the current concerns of contemporary China , he works with photography and colours black and white photographs by hand. One of his striking images is this one, “The Wedding Invitation” which takes references from Van Eyck’s “The Arnolfini Marriage” where he has changed articles to suit a very different time and society. For example, stiletto shoes have replaced the fifteenth century clogs and the demure wife has become a hardheaded red guard. Shi’s works were recently on display at the Albemarle Gallery, January, 2012.
