What if Lei Feng served today?

Trapping the hero

The New Story of Lei Feng was first displayed at the Academic Exhibition of Contemporary Chinese Photography in Beijing in 2008. Curator Bao Kun wrote a foreword for the exhibition titled “The Hero Forever.”

When it showed at Metro Art Gallery (MAG) in Hong Kong in 2009, the curator Wu Zhenrong added the subtitle “Understanding Illusion and Truth.　

“For Hong Kong people, Lei Feng is strange. Most people in Hong Kong know little about the mainland hero. While the previous theme of the exhibition was kept, I hoped to emphasize the relationship between illusion and truth,” Wu said on his blog.

Most visitors to the exhibition were young people who were more interested in traditional photography. But Lei Feng was drawing visitors even on the last day.

Hong Kong media reported on the photography show, saying Dai’s works were “very creative” and “interpreted illusion and truth in reality from a new angle.” However, they lacked the mainland’s tremendous enthusiasm and more varied interpretations of the picture.
One visitor was inspired to start a microblog on sina.com.cn in February where he began keeping “Lei Feng’s Diary.” The blog spins a yarn about Lei’s life in a world of consumer culture and social scandals. He based several of the entries on Dai’s photos.

“It’s a clever way to comment on the latest social topics. I have heard many interpretations of each photo at my exhibition and I welcome more,” Dai said.

“Lei has become something ‘in vogue’ with young people. I don’t think Lei’s place rrent pop culture has anything to do with his spirit or morals.”

Both the exhibitions in Lianzhou, Guangdong Province, and Los Angeles this January received international acclaim, especially from the French media and foreign art collectors.

The French Le Monde 2 described the hero’s journey to modern times an “adventure.”