China’s Van Gogh is a documentary of Chinese filmmakers Yu Haibo and Kiki Tianqi Yu narrating the story of a peasant turned painter Zhao Xiaoyong who operates an oil painting replication shop in Dafen in Shenzhen, China. Dafen is China’s biggest "oil painting village." Established in 1989 by a Hong Kong businessman, it is considered the world’s art factory.
The small family business replicates and copies works of Vincent Van Gogh in oil to serve the orders around the world mostly in Europe. One painting is done by several painters processing the layers and images step by step like a production line in a factory. As Zhao and his team replicate thousands of Van Gogh’s creations, he slowly imbibes the psyche of the Dutch artist immersing in his subconscious when he created his original works further appreciating the artists’ creations.
When invited by a client to visit the Van Gogh art museum in Amsterdam, he struggled to realize the travel even with obstacles. Successfully, he made the trip, saw his client and viewed the original works. Awed by the beauty and the value of the originals which he gazed, internalized, touched and felt, he began to question his calling. Soon after, he invalidated his a thousand replicas sold in the streets at commodity value when comparing with the originals. "Am I that cheap? Is that just my value?"
He eventually regained his bearing when the piece of work he painted at the same spot the Dutch painter created the painting Café Terraces at Night was appreciated by onlookers for completing almost like the original in a record time of 30 minutes.
Documentary is a self-assessment of Zhao as a peasant turned replicator questioning his stature as an artist. It dramatizes a philosophical view on man’s search for expression and fulfillment. Towards the end of the 83 minute program, he starts to create his own works, no longer copying but conveying his message using his style in a piece of art.
China’s Van Gogh was viewed on Discovery Asia HD Channel 164 on SkyCable.
