22 cm; 20 pages. Handbound in traditional Chinese style, with silk thread over dark blue wrappers. Illustrator/binder/publisher Davis has also lived and worked in China, as managing editor of Beijing Scene, a newspaper that was finally shut down by the government. She studied traditional binding techniques while there. On the eve of the infamous anti-democracy massacre in Tiananmen Square, Larry Hanbrook joined Chinese activists in their makeshift campground, giving witness as the tanks rolled in upon them. In these sharply observed vignettes, he has captured the humanity and tensions of these mostly young people whose struggle continues even today. After the crackdown, Hanbrook went to Hong Kong for a time, where he operated a safe house for activists escaping from the mainland. Now his essay, illustrated with three photo-transfer images by Margaret E. Davis, has been issued to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the most painful and pivotal event in the ongoing quest for Chinese democracy. |
