1974

1974 – Everyone has a unique starting point in their own memory. For Li Lang, it all began in 1974. His 1974 work consists of 390 slides played in a loop, accompanied by the artist’s voiceover telling four stories from his memories of 1974, a summary of the important events of that year and vignettes of the voiceover on the site.

As an artist working primarily with photographic images, Li Lang has inserted his observations of history and images into the blurred zone between reality and fiction, as well as his reflections on the contradictions and conflicts between the two. The 1974 slides come from old photographs he has collected over the years from a variety of sources, including studio portraits, travel photos, snapshots of work scenes and everyday life, etc. After sorting them into different categories, Li labeled them by hand with dates based on a fictitious chronology. After sorting them into different categories, Li labeled them by hand with dates based on a fictitious chronology. In this way, these old photographs are removed from their original context and become metaphors for his memory, which are then framed in his own narrative.

Li Lang’s work reconstructs his imagination from the starting point of his memory, using voice-over and old photos. Images and texts are no longer just traces of the past. They also explore the potential dialogue with reality in the space between light and shadow. Li never asks the audience to accept his account of history. Instead, he invites us to join him as explorers of the past.