Born in 1978 in Sichuan, China, He Jian graduated in 2000 from the Chinese painting department of Sichuan Fine Arts Institute. In 2007, he participated in exhibitions within China as well as overseas, in USA. ‘Rostrum No. 1’ references the politically tumultuous past of China through the innocuous depiction of a rostrum set up with flowers and a placard, in preparation of a meeting. The scene, however, examines the nation-building event of the Long March that took place between 1934 and 1936. It recalls the importance of the event in determining the current power base of China, where the individuals who joined Mao Zedong on the March became the generation of leaders that went on to govern the country. The absent official who has most power and influence holds the position of ‘rostrum speaker’ as suggested in this painting.