Falun Gong practitioners in Sandnes and Stavanger hosted the "Truthfulness Compassion Forbearance" International Art Exhibition at Sandnes Kulturhus (a public building which houses a collection of different kinds of art) on December 16th. It was a unique opportunity to expose the truth about the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China

Rolf Atle Kristoffersen from the local Amnesty International committee gave a speech at the opening of the exhibition, in which he pointed out examples of the abusive treatment of Falun Gong practitioners. He also expressed that an art exhibition like this is a great way to draw attention to the human rights violations in China. Mr. Kristoffersen also said that China is of high priority for Amnesty's work and that they use a lot of resources to help out the situation there.

The exhibition shows paintings that express Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance during terror, pain and suffering. The paintings are the work of Falun Gong practitioners and the exhibition was initiated by a professor of art, Zhang Kunlun, who was tortured in Chinese forced labor camps. He was set free after pressure from the Canadian government and Amnesty International and now, together with the other artists, uses art to expose the violence towards Falun Gong in China.

Sandnes Kulturhus was happy to lend us the foyer of the public library. The space was light and airy and has about 30,000 visitors every month. Some of these passed the exhibition as they hastened by to the public library. They were all handed a flyer and at the same time glanced at a painting or two. Others took their time and were guided through the exhibition by Falun Gong practitioners telling them about the artist's thoughts about the paintings and the stories behind the work. Most of the visitors thought the paintings were both strong and powerful, and they saw the beauty in the strong expressions.

Visitors were shocked by the persecution happening in China. The practitioners also had a dialogue with many young people. They are very up to date. They knew about the persecution and responded that it's great that we were exposing the torture.

This week the exhibition was visited by two secondary school classes. They had just visited China and learned much about the country and are now working on a project about China.

In a corner of the display area people got the opportunity to make paper lotus flowers. It was quite popular, especially among the young. Sometimes both young and old gathered on the floor making beautiful lotus flowers in different colors. If the practitioners had the time, they sat down with the children and told them about the lotus flower, which in Chinese tradition symbolizes purity. The lotus flower grows in mud, yet blossoms as a beautiful and pure flower. The practitioners told older children about the persecution and torture in China. It was a good way to inform them of the persecution and the truth about Falun Gong.

Originally published in Norwegian at: http://no.clearharmony.net/articles/200512/884.html