The Tiananmen Square massacre took place on June 4, 1989, this was the Chinese Communist Party’s reaction to pro-democracy protests, largely done by students. They began back in April with the protesters arguing that the leadership had been full of nepotism. The protests in Beijing sparked many other protests around the nation. By June, the CCP did the unthinkable and opened fire on their own people. This event is still largely unacknowledged in China. While we will never know the exact death toll, it is estimated anywhere from 400-10,000 people died during the massacre. This piece is a series of 6 cyanotypes of images captured during the protests. After much research I narrowed it down to these images which highlight the community, unity, but also the terror which took place during the event. Cyanotypes being blue, memorialized the imagery, and having these images exposed to the sun, made it feel as though I was exposing this information yet again. This piece is meant for the people who died and for the families that lost their loved ones at the hands of the CCP.

My People (Victory Belongs to Us Forever) (2024) - 6 sheets of 18”x 24” Bristol. Cyanotype.