Chinese authorities have shut down activist Ye Haiyan's blogs and forced her to move from one city to another. Left with few options, she now produces socially conscious paintings to make a living and advocate for the rights of sex workers and people with HIV or AIDS.
Using calligraphy brushes, Ye creates images of naked women and sex workers alongside symbols such as the Chinese characters for equality, or paints roosters, a Chinese homonym for prostitute.
'I've started to understand that painting is also a form of expression and the natural reflection of my thoughts,' said Ye, who is in her early 40s. She was recently evicted from her last home in an artists' enclave on Beijing's outskirts ahead of the annual meeting of China's ceremonial parliament that opened Sunday.
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Using calligraphy brushes, Ye creates images of naked women and sex workers alongside symbols such as the Chinese characters for equality, or paints roosters, a Chinese homonym for prostitute.
'I've started to understand that painting is also a form of expression and the natural reflection of my thoughts,' said Ye, who is in her early 40s. She was recently evicted from her last home in an artists' enclave on Beijing's outskirts ahead of the annual meeting of China's ceremonial parliament that opened Sunday.
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