Living in France now, I continue to question my own identity. Sometimes I feel confused about moving between two cultures, so in order to analyse my origin, I feel compelled to go back to my childhood in China. I have several black and white photos from my family album which give me a great deal of 126 inspiration, yet by now the past has become blurred. I remember that I was often alone, feeling isolated. I had no brothers or sisters as a consequence of the one-child policy that has ruled China since the late seventies. Before 1979 (the beginning of the economic reform) life for most Chinese families was full of economic hardship and I was brought up in a frugal environment devoid of toys. This has inspired my most recent series of work, where I have invented and depicted a fictitious brother and all the toys that I never had. I have created this fantasy world where I can relive my childhood. I use my painting as a means to reinvent the childhood that I never had. Tianbing Li in conversation with Uli Sigg taken from www.kashyahildebrand.org