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Identification and Creation

Object Number
2024.113
People
Chen Haiyan 陳海燕 ( Fushun, Liaoning province, China born 1955)
Title
I Let Go [of the Snake]
Other Titles
Original Language Title: 我松开手
Classification
Prints
Work Type
print
Date
1986
Places
Creation Place: East Asia, China
Culture
Chinese
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/383971

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Woodblock print; ink on pi zhi bast paper
Dimensions
image: H. 19.6 × W. 13 cm (7 11/16 × 5 1/8 in.)
paper: H. 32.2 × W. 23 cm (12 11/16 × 9 1/16 in.)
Inscriptions and Marks
  • signature: in pencil: 10/30 梦1986年4月3日 我松开手 陈海燕 1986 [10/30 Dream: April 3, 1986, I Let Go; Chen Haiyan 1986]
  • inscription: printed: 在桌子上，有好多蛇。
    一个男孩用手把蛇拉起来摇着，
    差一点碰到我。
    我明白了，
    蛇在脱节。
    它把死后的蛇放在我手上，
    我怕蛇再活，
    我松开手。

    梦 一九八六四三


    DREAM: APRIL 3, 1986
    The table is covered with
    snakes. A boy grabs one
    and shakes it,
    almost hitting me. I suddenly
    realize that
    the snake is breaking apart.
    The boy puts the now
    dead snake
    in my hand, but I am afraid
    the snake will come back to life,
    so I let go of it.

    [Translation: Britta Erickson]


Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
Chen Haiyan, Hangzhou (1986-2024), sold [through Ink Studio, Beijing, China]; to Harvard Art Museums, 2024.

State, Edition, Standard Reference Number

Edition
10/30

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Johanna and Leslie Garfield Fund in Honor of Professor Roderick MacFarquhar
Accession Year
2024
Object Number
2024.113
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
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Descriptions

Description
The coarsely cut woodblock print in black ink is enclosed within vertically oriented rectangle. The print depicts a circular ring in which a figure is holding a snake. Another figure is underneath them, and to his right there is a table. Chinese characters occupy the whole print with some on top of the image.

Publication History

  • Britta Erickson, Abby Chen, and Amjad Majid, Chen Haiyan: Carving the Unconscious (Seattle, 2016), pl. 14

Related Works

Verification Level

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu