Xiuwen, Cui. Angel No. 2. 2004. Photograph on paper. Gift, Joe Baio Collection of Photography. 2017.61.9. Bowdoin College Museum of Art.
Cui Xiuwen, a revolutionary contemporary artist from China examines gender, sexuality and pregnancy through various platforms such as oil paintings, video and photography. As an impactful feminist artist, Cui Xiuwen reveals the anxieties and concerns of young pregnant Chinese women through the photograph, Angel no.2. Angel no. 2 is a photograph that captures twelve images of the same teenage girl who is positioned in a horizontal pattern. Cui Xiuwen challenges traditional portraiture by utilizing multiple images of the same teenage girl. The teenage girl is dressed in a white dress with bright red eyeshadow and lipstick. Through this feminine composition, Ciu Xiuwen emphasizes their doll-like features. Cui Xiuwen positions the subjects in differentiated and uncomfortable postures; the twelve girls are falling off the chairs while accentuating their pregnant bellies. The dramatic positioning of the teenage girl examines the relationship between control of the body (or lack thereof) and pregnancy.
The uncomfortable positioning and depressing facial expressions of the teenage girls alludes to greater anxieties in regard to gender and sexuality ideologies within China. Chinese ideologies such as population control and disapproval of female sexuality generate concerns for contemporary Chinese women. Cui Xiuwen further addresses Chinese womens’ suppression as the backdrop of the print is a location that resembles the Forbidden City in Beijing, China; the Forbidden City is a symbol of a suppressive, conservative and patriarchal society.
Sources:
“Cui Xiuwen.” Brooklyn Museum: Cui Xiuwen, Brooklyn Museum, www.brooklynmuseum.org/eascfa/about/feminist_art_base/cui-xiuwen.
Lin, Sabrina. Object of the Month: Cui Xiuwen, “Angel No. 2,” 2004. Bowdoin College of Art Museum, www.bowdoin.edu/art-museum/news/2019/object-of-the-month-cui-xiuwen,-angel-no.-2,-2004,.html.