Part of a DVD series produced by China Institute featuring intimate discussions with artists, curators, critics and art historians about contemporary Chinese art from the perspectives of society and politics, the relationship between contemporary Chinese and Western culture, and the bridge between traditional and contemporary Chinese art.

Born in Changzhou, Jiangsu Province in 1960, Hong Lei graduated from the Nanjing Academy of Art in 1987. Abandoning oil painting in the mid-1990s, he turned to photography as a medium for the exploration of a wide range of cultural issues. Among the images that first attracted international attention were Autumn in the Forbidden City (West Veranda), 1997 and Chinese Landscape (Zhuozheng Gardens), 1998, views of the supreme symbol of Imperial power and a traditional Chinese garden suffused with ominous washes of red pigment. His latest work is based on ancient Chinese erotic literature and images.

This is a video recording of Hong Lei in conversation with Christopher Phillips, curator at the International Center of Photography, New York, on 10 January 2009. DVD contains an English and Mandarin version (1:15:00 mins), and English version (36:45 mins). Includes artist bio.