do not asking please, why this man we could not see
his head or face, only we can see his head not face
the man face it is very
this man have a very angry face,
do we want to see the face, no, certainly not,
ugly
do not asking please, why we only see the man's back
because, they do not want to see his ugly face that's all
why not just imagine what his face like
that's much more interesting.
do not asking please, I know you want to know why we
only see one part the body.
a human head and face are not always nice to see.
- Li Yuan Chia
Despite his trials, Li's art work continues to develop. He is invited to participate in The Other Story: Afro-Asian Artists in Postwar Britain, a survey show of twenty-four artists curated by Rasheed Araeen[Hayward Gallery, London; Wolverhampton Art Gallery; and Manchester City Art Gallery, 1989-1990], where he brings severals stands of his work to fruition.
His room contains twelve free-hanging discs supporting a large number of photographic magnetic points for the public to move (up to 350 in all),Mushroom Toys (low tables with moveable points), and Time Toys, reliefs incorporating the intermittent chimes from dismantled clocks. Writing in the catalogue, Rasheed Araeen frames Li's work, and that of the other artists in the show, within 'the process of decolonization across the world'. He pays tributes these artists who' defied their "otherness" and entered the modern space that was forbidden to them.' The significance of Li's work, in Araeen's opinion, was not merely its' "fusion" between his own culture and Modernism but its strategic location within avant-garde tradition.'Although 'without any rhetoric of opposition, is metaphorized paradigmatically. There is no concern for painterly marks or sculptural modulations. Instead the various elements of the work are placed wither on the flat surface or hung in space, not necessarily in a fixed position but so they can be constantly shifted in a variety of arrangements manipulated by the spectator or audience. Demystification is achieved not only within the work itself but also by changing the status of the work from a single unique object to multiples.'
According to Andrew Dempsey,Hayward Gallery Assistant Director at the time, Li Yuan-Chia's and David Medalla's rooms in The Other Story are those in which people'Linger most'.
