“Golden Spike Celebrations – Chinese workers’ vintage point of Andrew J. Russell’s ‘Champagne Photo’ site”, 2008, Chinese ink on paper, 48” x 108”
Zhi Lin’s series titled “Invisible and Unwelcomed People” was exhibited at Koplin Del Rio Gallery, Culver City, California in 2009. According to the artist, “the project is centered on the bitter history of Chinese workers in the construction of American transcontinental railroads, and the brutal treatment that they encountered in the 19th Century. It is my intent to paint the watercolor studies in a very light and subtle way, as though recalling faint memories. The pale value and small handwritings invite the audience to look at the work in a very close range, even with reading glasses – the way people would go through their intimate personal journals and family photo albums. I believe strongly that the Chinese railway workers’ contributions should not be erased and their experience should never be forgotten – they are part of American family history.”
Courtesy of Koplin Del Rio Gallery, Culver City, California.