China's 2,000-year-old terra-cotta warriors are getting some female company thanks to a Norwegian artist who is living next door to the farmer who found the famous array of clay soldiers on the outskirts of Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province. Conceptual artist, Marian Heyerdahl, has so far created 20 out of 70 replicas of the terra-cotta warriors in female form each of which carries a special message -- war is suffering beyond what can be imagined. Heyerdahl hopes to get this message across to people through these statues.
Like the original soldiers made more than two millennia ago, Heyerdahl's soldiers each have a different facial expression but none are of stoic, brave men. "Some have their mouths open as if they're screaming, others have their eyes closed in fear, some are smiling and some are pregnant," said the artist.
Heyerdahl is working with a factory that makes life-sized knockoffs of the warriors, which stand almost two meters tall and are sold as novelties around the world. She said the factory has likely sold more replicas than there are originals. The museum across the street from her studio houses thousands of original terra-cotta warriors. After her warriors are kiln dried and painted, she plans to first exhibit them in Beijing. They'll be on show in January in Space 798, the largest gallery in Beijing's alternative art community which has adopted the name 789.
More images can be found on the following link.
Link & Image: XinHuaNet
Tags: Terra-cotta Warriors | Terra-cotta | Marian Heyerdahl | Sculpture | Statue | Space 798
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