Ping Pong Diplomacy Series Artwork

Ping Pong Diplomacy Series is an ongoing Project in which I create scenes by juxtaposing ping pong players beside Air Force parachute troops tending to refer to the absurdity of war and politics. "Ping pong Diplomacy" refers to the secret talks between the United States of America and China in the mid-1970s. At that time, the two countries still had no political relations and used a ping pong tournament as an excuse to conduct negotiations. In March 1971, the Chinese, who had started talks with the Americans during the Vietnam peace talks, invited the US national ping pong team to Beijing. Several diplomats were also present in this team who secretly talked with Chinese officials. These negotiations finally led to the secret trip of Henry Kissinger, the National Security Adviser of Richard Nixon's government, to Beijing in July 1971.