Never before seen images of Tiananmen protest published as negatives
Smartphone needed to view as positives the images by Xu Yong, which the Chinese photographer insists are art and a way to examine the events of spring 1989 that makes readers interact
As you flip through the latest photography book by Chinese artist Xu Yong, it seems strange to be staring at colour negatives of scenes from demonstrations in Tiananmen Square during the spring of 1989. Nothing makes immediate sense. But the jacket cover instructs readers to use their smartphones and change the settings to "invert colour" or "colour effect - negative" - and suddenly images come to life of protesters holding up banners and shouting slogans beneath the portrait of Mao Zedong on the Gate of Heavenly Peace.
Negatives is an art book, says Xu, adding: "I have no interest in discussing what the images mean."
Indeed, when the publisher of New Century Press in Hong Kong, Bao Pu, originally wanted to release the book to mark the 25th anniversary of the Tiananmen crackdown last June, Xu insisted the subject of the book wasn't important, and he wanted to avoid launching it on an anniversary, lest people "attack the book's meaning".
"I respect his strong feelings for artistic expression. I compromised and had the book printed in December last year," says Bao. "He was very meticulous before we printed the book. Xu did the scanning professionally. He was concerned about the quality of the images. He made the scans himself and treated the colours."