A LIFE-SIZE FIGURE dressed in corduroy trousers and a leather jacket lies staring at the ground. In front of his face is a pool of what appears to be water - or perhaps it's blood or vomit. Behind him in the distance are the unmistakable buildings of the Forbidden City. This is Tiananmen Square.
In the next photo, the same figure lies on the ground in a massive, empty space. In front of his face is an expanse of ice.
These monumental, meditative works by 39-year-old Beijing artist Song Dong, called Breathing, are part of an extraordinary exhibition of Chinese art at London's Victoria and Albert Museum. Entitled Between Past and Future, it's Britain's first major presentation of Chinese photography and video from the past decade. It's a witty, engaging and varied show that features artists born between 1960 and 1972, with the exception of Xiong Wenyun, who at 52 is by far the oldest.
The show includes traditional landscapes painted onto a model's skin, film of a rooster and chicken in a grain-eating competition and some unusual takes by photographer Wang Qingsong on Socialist Realist town square statues.
Closer inspection of Wang's work reveals that the statues are tableaux vivants, with actors, covered in metallic paint, holdings objects such as pineapples, lanterns or bicycles.
Beijing's East Village plays a prominent part in the exhibition, with works by several artists who lived there in the early 90s. One such piece is footage of Fen-ma Liuming, who walked naked along ruins of the Great Wall until his feet bled. He has long hair and is made up to look like a pretty young woman - despite his naked male body.