Self Portrait as Li Bai

Jingdezhen, China, 2016

In Self Portrait as Li Bai, surrounded by eight Auspicious Shards (2016), the artist imagines himself as the great 8th century poet Li Bai, ruminating on the romantic and poetic nature of landscape. In the costume of the poet, he stands alone on a rock surrounded by eight partitioned glimpses into his life. Subtly masked as Chinese symbols, the love struck rabbit looks across to the Goddess of the Moon with each shard portraying a personal wish for love, home and happy marriage. (Julianne Pearce, 2018)

Photography, Grant Hancock