ABSTRACT
This chapter starts with memories of a Cao Fei work which lead into an interpretation of Nietzsche’s interest in ‘return’. The writer goes on to describe another Cao Fei work in which history plays a strong part. Next, a group show of Chinese artists, its title ‘Afterimage’, and the curator’s gambit are explored, while one artist in the show, Yu Hong, is singled out for analysis. The movie Platform (2000) directed by Jia Zhangke is invoked as a comparably ‘historical’ work of contemporary art, before the writer goes on to discuss Tie Ning’s short story titled O Xiangxue. The chapter concludes with further reflections on the individual’s dialogue with the idea and experience of history.
