https://vimeo.com/51403347
Above is a video of the opening of The Art of Zhen Shan Ren Exhibition at The Poly in Falmouth.
The Art of Zhen, Shan, Ren (Truth, Compassion, Tolerance) International Exhibition is an extraordinarily moving, intimate and inspiring exhibition detailing both an inner spiritual life and an outer human rights tragedy. Realistic oil paintings and Chinese watercolors from mostly Chinese artists give a unique insight into the spiritual discipline Falun Gong, also called Falun Dafa.
Falun Gong, a form of meditative exercise originating in China, is based on the principles of Truth, Compassion and Forbearance. Part of the exhibition is dedicated to showing how the practice of Falun Gong has changed people’s lives, providing them with a return to traditional Chinese values.
On July 20th 1999 Falun Gong was banned in China, and since that date 13 years ago many thousands of practitioners have been tortured in an effort to “transform” them. Part of the exhibition deals with the terrifying ordeals people – including the artists themselves – have gone through.
(From The Art of Zhen Shan Ren’s website).
Here is an account from the London exhibit:
After the London exhibition in August, I was counting up the coins in the donation box. One caught my eye – it was exactly the same size as a ten pence, but had some Chinese characters on it. “Oh, a foreign coin. I cannot mix them,” I thought. I just separated the coin without thinking about it further.
Then, a Chinese Falun Gong practitioner said to me, “This coin meant a lot to the donor.”
You may wonder why.
The truth is, some of the tourists that visited the London exhibition were from Mainland China, and many were shy and unwilling to take our information flyers – since any materials related to Falun Gong are banned in China. They may be caught and may even face at risk of imprisonment.
Under this kind of pressure, a Chinese citizen dropped one yuan into our donation box; indicating that he supported our exhibition. Indeed, this act of dropping one yuan into the donation box must have taken some courage. I decided to keep this one yuan in a special place, to remind myself of the importance of the exhibit.