Wood Houses in the Mountains, 1964

Based on Lui Shou-Kwan’s Wood Houses in the Mountains, Background Story is one in a series of works by Xu Bing that recreates modern and historical ink landscape paintings in light-box installations. Though Background Story appears as a peaceful, idyllic landscape from the front, a look behind the piece reveals that it is composed of trash and natural debris, contrasting the historical landscape with allusions to the contemporary polluted environment.

© Helen Ting, photo: Maurice Aeschimann, Geneva