Symbolic of the development of Chinese contemporary art at the close of the 21st century, Zhang Xiaogang captures the psychological experiences of his generation through his iconic Bloodline series of paintings, of which Bloodline: The Big Family (1997) is a dynamic example. Inspired by old family photographs, Zhang Xiaogang’s era-defining Bloodline series is a visual encapsulation of the inescapability of familial and socio-political ties that bind people together. Executed in 1997, the year in which Zhang’s paradigmatic visual iconography arguably reached its pictorial zenith in terms of both style and technique, this work is an engaging two figure portrait, distinctive in Zhang’s diagonal positioning of his adolescent protagonists.

Bloodline: The Big Family is a signature example of his dreamlike, muted aesthetic. Lit from the right, as is typical in Zhang’s Bloodline portraits, the faces of the two figures stare blankly out at the viewer. As is typical of Zhang’s iconic works, the artist infuses his otherwise monochrome portraits with elements of red, resulting in the pink hue of the boy’s visage. The artist also includes a surrealist patch of pink that encroaches upon the girl with pig-tails, evocative of the discoloration and blurs of old photographs. The red ties or neckerchieves of these figures stand out as important details, representative of student uniforms during the Cultural Revolution, thus rooting the paintings of this series in this particular context. The ribbons decorated with a delicate polka-dot motif used to tie the girl’s hair are a charming addition to the painting, an example of how the artist permeates his canvases with subtle, yet significant details and symbols, small differences that run throughout his works and make each painting exclusive.

Photographs of his parents in their youth, of himself as a child, of him with his brother and parents - all these made strong and lasting impressions on him. Basing this series of paintings on these old photographs, Zhang’s Bloodline works resonate with an uncannily enthralling aura that combines the poignancy of old photographs – lost moments in t.mes – with a disquieting surrealist style. By usurping the photographic medium’s claims to objectivity, Zhang reopens a chapter from the past and enlivens its discourse with painterly ambiguity.

張曉剛標誌性的「血緣」畫作系列反映出二十世紀末中國當代藝術的發展面貌，展現了他所屬的世代的心路歷程。「血緣」系列靈感來自老舊的家庭照片，藝術家藉著圖像闡述人與家庭和社會政治環境的連結，而無人能逃避這種些絲絲扣連的關係。這幅《血緣：大家庭》採用張曉剛特別的對角線構圖，創作於1997年，當時張曉剛已經發展出極具標誌性的個人特色，在風格與技藝上可謂已達至巔峰。

張曉剛的作品氣氛空靈如夢、畫面低調而安靜。《血緣：大家庭》與「血緣」系列其他作品一樣，光線來自右方，畫中一男一女以空洞的眼神直視觀眾。一如另外一些經典作品，張曉剛在這幅幾乎單色調的畫面中加入了少量紅色元素，例如男孩臉上的粉紅色和女孩頭髮上的一抹粉紅色，令人聯想起褪了色或模糊了的老照片。此外，他們身上的紅色領帶非常顯眼，這是文革期間學生制服的特徵，揭示了這系列作品所反映的歷史和文化背景。張曉剛經常為畫面添上低調卻重要的細節或符號，例如女孩髮帶上的細圓點圖案，這些細微的差異令每幅作品皆獨一無二。

父母親年輕時候的照片、自己童年的照片、兄弟合照和家庭合照，給了張曉剛經久難忘的衝擊。《血緣》系列的氛圍神秘怪誕而耐人尋味，混雜了令人不安的超現實風格和老照片飽含的傷痛——遺失在時間裂縫裡的歲月。他顛覆了攝影繪畫的客觀性，重訪一段塵封的歷史，並藉由繪畫的曖昧性重新加以詮釋。