(Clearwisdom.net) Minghui correspondent Zhou Rong reports from Taipei: On February 25, 2005 after the Lantern Festival, a lively and moving artistic feast solemnly came on stage in the busy East District of Taipei. Elegantly-built and carefully designed frames matching the splendid paintings attracted the attention of passers-by. After a two-day preview, the exhibit will be on display until March 8. This special art exhibit, different from ordinary art exhibits, has gained extensive attention from the public.

Art exhibit venue

Art exhibit venue

One of the designers and participants of the art exhibit, Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Zhou Yixiu, said that this is the first stop of the "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance International Art Exhibit" in Taiwan. Besides the participation of artists from 15 countries, the biggest characteristic is that these artists are Falun Gong practitioners. Among them, two artists, Mr. Zhang Kunlun and Ms. Fan Hong, have personally suffered persecution in Mainland China for practicing Falun Gong.

The artists in the exhibit displayed through the artistic media their understanding of life, their personal experiences or what they have seen or heard of the brutal persecution of Falun Gong practitioners by the Chinese Communist Party. They have held exhibits in over 20 major cities, including Washington DC and New York, and in cities in Canada, South Korea, Indonesia and other countries. The exhibit has gained wide acclaim from the public. Besides Taiwan, the art exhibits are also being simultaneously held in places such as Boston's Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Ukraine, Queensland, Australia, Toronto, Canada, and in Jakarta and Sumatra, Indonesia.

Because the exhibit is being held simultaneously around the world, only reproductions could be displayed, but even so, the artists conveyed the wonderfulness, purity, and kindness of Falun Dafa, so that the public would understand the beauty of Falun Dafa. Through the traditional medium of painting, the artists clearly demonstrate the concepts of Dafa cultivation, and the spirit of "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance" that Falun Gong practitioners have consistently manifested amidst the persecution. Each painting tells a story of what is happening in heaven and earth.

Artist explains the work

Ms. Fan Hong, detained in China for practicing Falun Gong, personally experienced being stripped naked and forced to lie on the ground while other prisoners stepped on her body until she lost consciousness. She was also tied up tightly on a bed and force-fed. While being force-fed, she endured excruciating pain, but with her strong will power she kept reciting the teachings of Falun Gong. The torturers were touched by her strong will. They said, "You are such a fragile woman, how can you have such a strong willpower and be so courageous?" Ms. Fan said, "This might be the last opportunity that I see you, and I will tell you Falun Dafa is Great, and that you should not do wrong deeds again." Inspired by Fan Hong, some prison guards and prisoners said that they would treat Falun Dafa practitioners kindly in the future.

Fan Hong exhibited two of her works in this art exhibit, each one combining the techniques of Chinese gongbi painting and Western bright color painting. The two paintings were entitled, "Unmovable," and "Unshakable Faith." What the paintings express is basically her own experience of being persecuted in China. Without hatred and sorrow, what is shown in the paintings are benevolent and kind belief, as well as the message that good will be rewarded with good, and evil will meet with retribution.

Another sculptor and painter who is currently living in Canada, professor Zhang Kunlun, was arrested four time after the Chinese Communist Party and Jiang's regime began the persecution of Falun Gong, because he clarified the truth to the public. He also experienced being beaten, shocked with electric batons, having his home ransacked, being monitored, and illegally sent to a forced labor camp. Professor Kunlun said, "China, under the control of the Communist Party, is like a big prison. A person's every action and intention is monitored, and one can be arrested at any time." After he was rescued and allowed to come to Canada, his first thought was to expose all the atrocities he had seen and heard in China to the world.

Just as the designer of the art exhibit, Ms. Zhou Yixiu said, these artists' works are not for gaining personal fame and interest, or for advocating their own styles; they only sincerely tell the world's people what is happening in China, and call for people's concern and sense of justice and conscience. All Falun Gong practitioners participated in this art exhibit with a sincere heart. After working around the clock, this high-quality art exhibit was able help more people learn about the goodness of Falun Dafa and the facts of the persecution.

Ms. Xie, who provided the venue for the exhibition, gained a deeply positive impression of Falun Gong practitioners' efficiency. She said that she was very moved by Falun Gong practitioners' unselfish endeavor to let people learn about the truth of Falun Gong and to stop the persecution. Therefore, she was willing to provide the practitioners with this prominent exhibition venue, and instead of charging them the usual high monthly rent, she only charged a nominal fee for water and electricity.

During the exhibition, the audience's comments inspired the organizers of the art exhibit and the exhibition site staff members.

An older woman in a wheelchair came to the exhibit, accompanied by her husband. She carefully looked at all the paintings and said that the paintings depicting the persecution made her sad. She said that Falun Gong practitioners are being tortured to such an extent only because they refuse to give up their belief, and it is really intolerable.

People in general believe what they see with their own eyes. Some visitor asked, "Are these scenes true? How did they paint them?"

According to the guide's explanation, some of the paintings depicting tortures are created based on the artist's personal experiences, while some are created according to the descriptions of Falun Gong practitioners who have been rescued from prisons or forced labor camps. Some images are painted according to the published articles that have come out of China after practitioners managed to break through the Internet blockade. As for those images depicting the beautiful realms of cultivation, only cultivators can understand their true meaning, but visitors seemed to understand something through the explanations.

Each painting is a true story, and through the painting, the audience and the artist's heart are closely connected.

An older man in his 80s who often went to Northeast China to visit his relatives said that these scenes were are all true; the Communist Party can do any evil deed.

A young girl looked at each painting and said to the guide, with tears in her eyes, that she only knew that Falun Gong is banned in Mainland China; but after looking at these paintings, she was shocked. She asked how long the exhibit would be up, and said that she would bring all her classmates to come see it.

Another man said he believed that the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) persecution of Falun Gong practitioners is all-pervasive, and that even non-Falun Gong practitioners may be implicated and suffer. He said his father and his younger sister once traveled to China, and as soon as they came out of the airport, they were stopped. Later, they found out that they were apprehended because their names are similar to some Falun Gong practitioners' names on a blacklist controlled by the CCP. His 70-year-old father said that he would never want to go again to such a place.

A businessman saw the painting of torture, and said to his wife that he has been right for not doing business in Mainland China. He did not want to work with a regime that uses such brutal means to torture defenseless people. He also said that nobody will believe what such a government says any longer.

Paintings depicting the wonderfulness of Falun Dafa attracted many people's attention. Some people saw the beautiful realm reached in the sitting meditation, and kept saying that the Falun Gong practice is so beautiful. They immediately wanted to get information about the location of practice sites and wanted to learn Falun Gong.

One woman said that every painting is vivid and lifelike, and the figures seem as if they could come out of the painting if you called them. A couple saw the paintings depicting the wonderfulness of Falun Dafa and kept asking if we would like to sell them.

A teacher with a group of students came and said that she learned about the exhibit from the Epoch Times newspaper. She felt that such an art exhibit, with its positive message, would be good for her students, and she said she also benefited a lot.

Many people were angry and pointed at Jiang Zemin, being pushed toward Hell in the painting entitled, "The Angel's Trial." They said it should be so. Through the art exhibit, more people learned the truth about Falun Gong.

Many people came back several times with their relatives and friends after visiting the exhibit themselves. Some signed their names in the signature book and said, "We support you, and keep it up!" Other people left their name cards and said, "If you need any help, I can definitely be counted on." Important issues in heaven and earth are quietly being told through each painting, attracting predestined people to come take a look. Through gathering support and strength from all people, we will stop this unprecedented and inhuman persecution.