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"The Silent Strength of Liu Xia", at the Castle of Montjuïc

An exhibition of 26 photographs taken by the Chinese artist during the period her husband was interned in a labour re-education camp in China

Liu Xia (born in Beijing in 1959) is a poet, painter, photographer and one of the most prominent artists working in China today. The Silent Strength of Liu Xia brings together 26 photographs taken between 1996 and 1999, a period in which her husband, the writer and activist Liu Xiaboo – winner of the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize, which he was unable to collect – was interned in a labour re-education camp on an accusation of public disorder, and sentenced to 11 years in prison for publishing a manifesto advocating democratic transition in China.

The photographs of Liu Xia – who was placed under house arrest with neither charges nor trial at the time her husband was awarded the Nobel Prize – deal with the very subject of the freedom of expression. The curator, Guy Sorman, says that he is unable to reveal how the negatives were brought out of China, because to do so would jeopardise human safety.
 
Before the inauguration of this travelling exhibition – it has already been shown in New York, Madrid, Berlin and Hong Kong and is scheduled for Tokyo, Amsterdam and London, among other cities – the photographs could only be viewed in private or on the internet.

The exhibition was officially opened on 13 February in the armoury courtyard of Montjuïc Castle by Jaume Ciurana, Josep Lluís Alay and Guy Sorman, and will remain open until 24 March.

Publication date: Sunday, 17 February 2013
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