-- Artist statement
In the spring of 1998, a handful of youngsters teamed up to unofficially rebel against conformist Chinese life in Beijing's university district. They shaved their heads, and founded bands with names like "Brain Failure" and "Anarchy Boys". To some like Punker Xiao Rong, this lifestyle was an extension of the life he'd begun as a school dropout at age sixteen. Although the majority of the punks came from well-off families, they preferred to live in self-imposed poverty. The Scream Bar and its surrounding dusty alleyways in the student district became the center of youthful rebellion until it was closed. Only few of the bands are still around.
