Chinese artist Gao Zhen has been detained and charged under the under the Heroes and Martyrs Protection Law, as reported by his brother and artistic collaborator, Gao Qiang.
The 2018 law prohibits any slander or insult of historical figures who have been designated national heroes, with more punitive measures added in 2021. If found guilty, he could face up to three years in prison.
Qiang has described how police raided the duo’s art studio on 26 August, confiscating several artworks that were explicitly critical of Mao Zedong and the Cultural Revolution. The Gao Brothers made their name with satirical sculptural works depicting the former Communist party leader, although Gao Qiang confirmed to Artnet that the works in question were over a decade old.
‘They are detaining an artist who is nearly 70 years old under regulations that have been implemented only in the past two years,’ he said. ‘This situation is exactly what those works were meant to critique.’
Zhen, who has been based in the US since 2022, was visiting family in China when he was arrested. The two brothers have worked together since the 1980s and have faced repercussions from the Chinese authorities previously for their criticism of the regime. They were forbidden from leaving the country from 1989 to 2003, and had pieces seized in 2006 during a government crackdown in Beijing’s Dashanzi art district.
Gao Zhen is currently being held at the Sanhe City Detention Centre in the east of Beijing.
