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• Issue #269
• Article

By Alex Novak and Yu Jie

Seventy-year old artist Gao Zhen.

The Gao Brothers, as they are well-known in the art and photography world, have treaded the line with their provocative work. This past summer while visiting relatives in China with his wife and American-born child, one half of this famous duo, Gao Zhen, was arrested by the Sanhe City Procuratorate and detained in the Sanhe Detention Center. His wife was also restricted from leaving the country, and although their son, born in the United States, is an American citizen, he too was unable to return to the U.S. alone. I have often been in touch with the brothers through email and Instagram, and been an admirer of their work.

At the end of 2011, Gao Zhen obtained a U.S. Extraordinary Talent Green Card, and he began traveling between Beijing and New York. As the situation in China became more and more oppressive, he and his family settled in New York in 2022.

This summer Gao Zhen returned to China with his wife and their seven-year-old son to visit relatives. On August 26th, Gao Zhen was arrested at his home in Hebei.

It is believed that this incident may be related to the Gao Brothers’ sculptures of Mao Zedong. Prior to his arrest, police had searched the warehouse where these sculptures were stored, a fact that had been reported by property management personnel. However, Gao Zhen ignored the warning.

Many of his friends were surprised that Gao Zhen would take such a risk. His younger brother Gao Qiang explained, "Perhaps it was the ingrained habit of assuming he was free, or maybe it was fate—he was like a mirror cast into the darkness by God."

The criminal detention notice received by Gao Zhen’s wife stated that Gao was being detained on suspicion of "infringing upon the honor of heroes and martyrs."

In April 2018, China’s National People’s Congress passed the Heroes and Martyrs Protection Law. On March 1, 2021, Amendment XI to the Criminal Law of the People’s Republic of China came into effect, making "infringement upon the honor of heroes and martyrs" a criminal offense. Gao Zhen is believed to be the first Chinese artist known to be detained under the law. However, Gao’s works about Mao were all created before this law was enacted.

Gao Qiang argued, “To retroactively punish behavior that occurred before a law was enacted violates the principle of non-retroactivity in modern legal systems. Moreover, there should be a clear boundary between artistic expression and criminal acts.”

After Gao Zhen’s arrest, 181 artists, writers, poets, professors, scholars, and ordinary citizens from around the world signed an open letter, stating, “The Sanhe Public Security Bureau has made the absurd decision to treat Gao Zhen’s artistic creations as evidence of a crime, repeating the persecution of the Cultural Revolution. We are both baffled and heartbroken. It also makes us feel that the control over the art world in China is tightening, and anyone could be the next to be detained.” The letter called for “the immediate release of artist Gao Zhen, so that he can be reunited with his family, demonstrating China’s commitment to governing by the rule of law.”

The Gao Brothers, with their unkempt appearance and seemingly rebellious demeanor, are in fact gentle and sensitive at heart. They are not political activists; they are artists and poets. But unlike many other artists and poets, they possess a historian’s sense of responsibility and a philosopher’s depth.

Gao Zhen often recited the poem Pont Mirabeau by his favorite poet, Guillaume Apollinaire: “Let night come, let the bells toll, time passes, and I do not move.” His true love is life itself, not politics or power. As he once said, “Life means listening to the birds, looking at the scenery and the clouds, or chatting with a lovely girl. Life should not always be entangled with politics. We do not make art for the sake of resistance. Resistance is something we do only because we must."

For over 30 years, the Gao Brothers have “maintained an independent attitude of cultural critique,” and are well-known for their “reflections on post-Mao China.” But they have always emphasized that all their works are born out of a desire for beauty, love, hope, and freedom. They are well aware that exorcising demons and slaying dragons is a dangerous business, and that they may well face the demons’ backlash. But they remain undeterred.

According to Gao Qiang, "The Gao Zhen case ought to be an opportunity for reflecting on the calamities caused by Mao’s legacy. However, given the desolation in today's Chinese society and intellectual circles under high pressure of totalitarian politics, (a desolation that is itself a continuation of the Mao-era disasters), we cannot expect the Gao Zhen case to spark widespread discussion or social reform movements like the Dreyfus affair did over 100 years ago in France; we just hope Gao Zhen can be released soon."

According to his brother, Gao Zhen's lawyer has mentioned that they are still in the process of reviewing the evidence; the role of lawyers is quite limited in China. It is thought that, due to internal economic stagnation and a downturn, Xi Jinping is currently eager to attract foreign investment. If at this moment, Western political figures or business elites were to speak up for Gao Zhen, asking for the release of an artist, Xi Jinping might grant them this favor.

Indeed if any of our readers can provide any help in the release of Gao Zhen and his family, please get in touch with us here. It is a sad story when artists are denied their very freedom.

(Thanks to Chinese-American writer Yu Jie for the information in this article. Much of the article is taken directly from Yu Jie's own reporting on this situation.)