Li Baojiu was born in Hebei, China, in 1991. A child of the millennial generation, Li’s work and interests lie in developing a zeitgeist oeuvre, one that marries China’s political agendas with its socio-economic progressions.
Li Baojiu’s documentarian style media work focuses on the proletarian lifestyles of his peers and his friends. He enrolled in the Tianjin Academy of Fine Arts (Tianjin, China) to pursue a career in the arts, but upon arrival, was disturbed by the disenfranchised and uninspired student population, the result of the school’s faulty education system. His short film, “Walk Into Tianjin Academy of Fine Arts,” is shot in the style of a home video, in which Li interviews students about their educational experiences and confronts academic staff about the school’s supposed incompetence. The film was the catalyst for Li dropping out of Tianjin Academy of Fine Arts, as well as the resignation of several school staff. The video, which was circulated heavily on the Internet after its release in 2014, was supported by prolific contemporaries such as art critics and professors from other institutions in China. Now considered an outsider artist, Li continues to inspect socio-political issues through his evolving multimedia work.
Li’s work has been exhibited at the group show “Trick or Treat,” at Muye Space, Beijing, China (2015) and at “Reverse Pitch,” Tang Art Gallery, Beijing, China (2013). He is collected by Uli Sigg of the Uli Sigg Collection at M+ Museum, Hong Kong.