2010 / Photography, archival pigment prints

Large Portraits / Portraits

Four portraits unfold alongside three enlarged details of each.

Portrait — He Fa, full image — Portrait — He Fa, 2010. Full portrait; 2310 × 2430 mm, archival pigment print.

Artist: He Fa
Date: 2010
Portrait — He Fa: 2310 × 2430 mm
Portrait — Yang Chen: 1350 × 1500 mm
Portrait — Huazai: 1240 × 1430 mm
Portrait — Bowen: 930 × 1020 mm

Complete chapter contents

From the portrait to its details

The 17-page portfolio unfolds in four groups: He Fa, Yang Chen, Huazai and Bowen. Each begins with a full portrait followed by three pages of enlarged details—forehead, hair, eye, nose, lips, ear or hand. The sitters retain their own postures, clothing and lighting; they are not standardized into an identity-photograph format.

The sequence moves from a person to details, then returns to another person. A full portrait allows a face to be apprehended as a whole, while detail pages attend to skin, hair, reflected light and incidental gestures. Each portrait has its own recorded physical dimensions; all are identified as archival pigment prints from 2010. Names follow the captions in the portfolio.

Another record of the same portrait

Portrait — He Fa in the 2010 portfolio and I in the 2012 record use the same portrait. The earlier image is vertical and has no grid; the later image is square and gridded. The portfolios give different titles, dates and dimensions. This site retains both documentary versions and connects them through related works.

Works & details

Portrait — He Fa, enlarged detail 1 — Portrait — He Fa, 2010. detail 1; 2310 × 2430 mm, archival pigment print.

Portrait — He Fa, enlarged detail 2 — Portrait — He Fa, 2010. detail 2; 2310 × 2430 mm, archival pigment print.

Portrait — He Fa, enlarged detail 3 — Portrait — He Fa, 2010. detail 3; 2310 × 2430 mm, archival pigment print.

Portrait — Yang Chen, full image — Portrait — Yang Chen, 2010. Full portrait; 1350 × 1500 mm, archival pigment print.

Portrait — Yang Chen, enlarged detail 1 — Portrait — Yang Chen, 2010. detail 1; 1350 × 1500 mm, archival pigment print.

Portrait — Yang Chen, enlarged detail 2 — Portrait — Yang Chen, 2010. detail 2; 1350 × 1500 mm, archival pigment print.

Portrait — Yang Chen, enlarged detail 3 — Portrait — Yang Chen, 2010. detail 3; 1350 × 1500 mm, archival pigment print.

Portrait — Huazai, full image — Portrait — Huazai, 2010. Full portrait; 1240 × 1430 mm, archival pigment print.

Portrait — Huazai, enlarged detail 1 — Portrait — Huazai, 2010. detail 1; 1240 × 1430 mm, archival pigment print.

Portrait — Huazai, enlarged detail 2 — Portrait — Huazai, 2010. detail 2; 1240 × 1430 mm, archival pigment print.

Portrait — Huazai, enlarged detail 3 — Portrait — Huazai, 2010. detail 3; 1240 × 1430 mm, archival pigment print.

Portrait — Bowen, full image — Portrait — Bowen, 2010. Full portrait; 930 × 1020 mm, archival pigment print.

Portrait — Bowen, enlarged detail 1 — Portrait — Bowen, 2010. detail 1; 930 × 1020 mm, archival pigment print.

Portrait — Bowen, enlarged detail 2 — Portrait — Bowen, 2010. detail 2; 930 × 1020 mm, archival pigment print.

Portrait — Bowen, enlarged detail 3 — Portrait — Bowen, 2010. detail 3; 930 × 1020 mm, archival pigment print.

Archive note

Source: 大头像--何发作品.pdf. The filename uses “Large Portraits”; the page captions read “Portrait — He Fa”, “Portrait — Yang Chen”, “Portrait — Huazai” and “Portrait — Bowen”. “Bowen” follows the visible caption on page 14. Each group follows its title page and three detail pages. Garbled and residual PDF text was checked against the rendered pages.

Continue exploring

2010↗

Four-Dimensional People

Bodies are assembled from separate views, holding traces of walking, reading and working.

Early explorations

2011↗

Illusion

Six bodily gestures appear suspended against a white field.

Early explorations

2012↗

Shanshui

From a distance, a landscape. Up close, photographs made at different times and positions.

Selected works

2012↗

I

A macro lens travels across the body; individual photographs assemble into an enlarged self-portrait.

Selected works

Work record

Large Portraits / Portraits, 2010. Photography, archival pigment prints. He Fa’s role: Artist: He Fa.

Work / series: Large Portraits / Portraits
Date: 2010
Medium: Photography, archival pigment prints
He Fa’s role: Artist: He Fa
Catalogue section: Early explorations

Cite this record: Large Portraits / Portraits · 2010 · Artist: He Fa · https://hefa.p4theater.cn/en/work/large-portraits

Read Markdown ↓All work records ↗

TAKE A PATH ACROSS

Other paths from this work.

Distance and looking
What follows a portrait
Large Portraits / Portraits Shixiang
Large Portraits places detail pages after a complete portrait; Shixiang follows photography with viewing and expression. One changes the distance of reading an image, while the other places the return to a photograph within another meeting.
2010 / Photography, archival pigment prints
2019–2020 / Photography theatre
Read the source materials
1. Work imageWorks & details ↗
  The portfolio places the complete portrait in the He Fa group alongside three details: nose, forehead and hair, and eye.
2. Period documentEight and a half acts. ↗
  The 2020 project text sets out photography in odd acts and viewing and expression in even acts within an eight-and-a-half-act structure; this is the method announced at the time.
Continue from this work ↗
Distance and looking
One face, dispersed attention
Large Portraits / Portraits YourTube
Large Portraits presents each person through a whole image and details, while YourTube disperses imagery across screens. Both allocate attention, but a viewer cannot survey them through the same kind of sequence.
2010 / Photography, archival pigment prints
2018 / Multi-screen video installation
Read the source materials
1. Period documentFrom the portrait to its details ↗
  The grouping and captions of the Large Portraits PDF list four sets of full portraits and details; names follow the original captions only.
2. Period documentInstallation instructions and playback ↗
  The saved installation instructions document switching on individual screens, media players and MP4 selection, and preserve the arrangement of screens, tubing and six connected stools.
Continue from this work ↗
Versions of a work
Two versions of the same face
Large Portraits / Portraits I
Portrait — He Fa from 2010 and I from 2012 use the same portrait, without and with a grid respectively, and with different dimensions. Source material continues, but titles and versions should not be collapsed.
2010 / Photography, archival pigment prints
2012 / Archival inkjet print
Read the source materials
1. Period documentRecords from 2010 and 2012 ↗
  The two portfolios separately record titles, dates and sizes for the 2010 ungridded vertical version and the 2012 gridded square version, retaining a shared source with distinct versions.
2. Period documentAnother record of the same portrait ↗
  The composition and dimensions of the 2010 Portrait—He Fa and 2012 I follow their respective documents; titles are not merged.
Continue from this work ↗