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CONTACT!unload performs at the INVICTUS GAMES Toronto 2017 and CIMVHR FORUM 2017

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Moss Park Armouries

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The Honourable Erin O’toole introduces CONTACT!unload at Moss Park Armouries

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Don Cherry and Minister Erin O’toole with Team CONTACT!unload

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Athlete from Afghanistan competing at Invictus Games

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Team USA Kelly Elmlinger (5 gold medals) with Team Canada Natasha Dupuis (3 gold 1 silver)

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Senator Anne Cools with Team CONTACT!unload

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Team CONTACT!unload

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LGen Lamarr with Foster Eastman and the lestweforgetCANADA mural at CIMVHR

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Don Cherry with Foster Eastman at the Invictus Games Toronto 2017

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CEO of Invictus Games Michael Burns with Foster Eastman

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1972 Porcelain busts of Chairman Mao busts were filled with red acrylic paint and detonated onto the canvases to reflect the violence that occurred in Tiananmen Square in 1989

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Mao promised land, and he delivered. However, this was very unfortunate for the Landlords.

By 1958, Mao took back the land and collectives were created… leading to one of the worst self-induced famines ever recorded in history. Approximately 30 million citizens starved during The Great Leap Forward 1958-1961.

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The goal of the Red Guards was to destroy the 4 olds… habits, ideas, customs, and culture. This piece represents the crucifying of Old China (Jesus) in order to create or resurrect a new China. This image is mounted onto pages of the New Testament with images of Chairman Mao representing the new god.

Also note the family registry. Geneology records were an important tradition in China. Many of these were destroyed during the Cultural Revolution.

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The Canadian Doctor Norman Bethune worked for many years giving medical treatment to wounded red army soldiers.

 

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An original banner from the Cultural Revolution is cut and mounted onto panels of images of young soldiers in training.

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An image of a 12 year old child pulling a plow is transferred onto images of China under massive industrialization. All technology was paid for by food products sent to Russia.

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‘Chairman Mao’s Vision Radiates Brightly Forever’

This verse is a lyric taken from a revolutionary opera made out of white rabbit candies from the 1960s. During collectivization, many children raised in day cares would sometimes learn Chairman Mao’s name before they knew their own name. By the age of 4, children participated in revolutionary skits, enrolled in the Children’s Brigade at 6, the Youth Corps at 12, and by 15, the Red Guards. Compared to North America, children were far from being educated about political science.

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Inside stories

23

Nov
2015

In b) MAO works

By foster eastman

MAO : Revealing Jesus

On 23, Nov 2015 | In b) MAO works | By foster eastman

Priests would cover paintings with propaganda in order to disguise them so they wouldn’t be destroyed.

 

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23

Nov
2015

In b) MAO works

By foster eastman

MAO : Dalai Lama and Mao

On 23, Nov 2015 | In b) MAO works | By foster eastman

Two images of the Dalai Lama, the younger when he went into exile in 1959 and a current photo transferred onto old testament pages of Foster’s grandfather’s (Foster Eastman) bible.

Chairman Mao with Red Guards from an original banner from the Cultural Revolution.

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23

Nov
2015

In b) MAO works

By foster eastman

MAO : The Great Leap Forward:Weight Lifter

On 23, Nov 2015 | In b) MAO works | By foster eastman

The image of the weightlifter is transferred onto 2 image transfers of peasant paintings from the 1960s. This represents citizens working together to build a strong China. However, during this period, 30 million Chinese citizens died of starvation.

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23

Nov
2015

In b) MAO works

By foster eastman

MAO : chocolate Mao

On 23, Nov 2015 | In b) MAO works | By foster eastman

Chocolate Mao symbolizes the exposure and relationship of political science versus childhood experiences in China during Mao’s reign. Mao pins have been created with plaster of paris from molds taken from vintage Mao pins from the Cultural Revolution. They were then covered with chocolate and sealed with resin… 48X48 on board

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23

Nov
2015

In b) MAO works

By foster eastman

MAO : IV power

On 23, Nov 2015 | In b) MAO works | By foster eastman

Each bag symbolizes 1 million drops of blood representing the approximately 72 million citizens who died during Mao’s reign from starvation, beatings/executions, overwork and suicide. These drops are slowly building a monument to these ‘never spoken about’ deaths… the largest democide ever recorded in history. Are we going to just forget about these people?

This performance installation also references Chairman Mao’s refusal for Chou En Lai to receive medical treatment for cancer.

It also makes reference to Ai Wei Wei’s surgery in 2009 to remove fluid on the brain while installing an exhibit in Munich… the result of a beating from Chinese Authorities.

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23

Nov
2015

In b) MAO works

By foster eastman

MAO : no more Jesus speak

On 23, Nov 2015 | In b) MAO works | By foster eastman

During the Cultural Revolution, all religions were banned and many churches and monasteries were ransacked or destroyed. These classic religious paintings were destroyed to create a stained glass effect with a completely different message mounted onto the cut out portion of an original Cultural Revolution banner dated 1967.8.

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23

Nov
2015

In b) MAO works

By foster eastman

MAO : death by 1000 cuts

On 23, Nov 2015 | In b) MAO works | By foster eastman

Jiang Qing was an amazing orator and would work red guards into a frenzy screaming ‘death by a 1000 cuts… down with Lui Shaoqi’. This was an ancient Chinese method of torture and execution. Jiang Qing’s image has been transfered onto pages of a 1958 Chinese Almanac. This book was banned during the Cultural Revolution due to it’s superstitious content. The image has been cut 1000 times.

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23

Nov
2015

In b) MAO works

By foster eastman

MAO : Mao’s dog

On 23, Nov 2015 | In b) MAO works | By foster eastman

At her trial in 1981, Jiang Qing defiantly declared, “I was Chairman Mao’s dog. I bit whomever he asked me to bite”. These images were transfered onto pages of Beethoven Sonatas, western music that was banned during the Cultural Revolution

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23

Nov
2015

In b) MAO works

By foster eastman

MAO : Mao and Richard’s AK 47

On 23, Nov 2015 | In b) MAO works | By foster eastman

The juxtaposition between guerrilla advertising and guerrilla warfare.

 

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23

Nov
2015

In c) MAO book of

By foster eastman

Mao Tse-tung

On 23, Nov 2015 | In c) MAO book of | By foster eastman

Mao Tse-tung (1893-1976) was a Chinese Communist revolutionary, guerrilla warfare strategist, anti-imperialist, political philosopher and leader of the Chinese Revolution. He was the architect and founding father of the People’s Republic of China established in 1949 after defeating Chiang Kai-shek’s Nationalist government during the Chinese Civil War. Mao enacted sweeping land reforms by using violence and terror to overthrow the feudal landlords and warlords. National campaigns for rapid industrialization such as the Great Leap Forward resulted in severe starvation. Anti-rightist movements and struggle sessions led to humiliation, beatings, suicides and executions. The Cultural Revolution damaged the historical culture of China by destroying ancient relics and religious sites in an effort to modernize the consciousness of the nation. Under Mao’s leadership positive changes included promoting the status of women by abolishing foot binding, arranged marriages, polygamy and allowing women to divorce. Literacy improved from 20% to 93% and life expectancy rose from 35 to 55 increasing China’s population dramatically. Corruption was wiped out and the restructuring of feudal and Confucius ideologies ensured China’s sovereignty and status as a major power on the international stage. Mao is credited for laying a foundation for China’s continued development and was named one of the 100 most influential people of the 20th century by Time Magazine. While his rule is believed to have caused the deaths of 40-70 million people, he remains a controversial figure with a contentious legacy that is subject to revision and fierce debate.

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