Chinese freelance photographer, Coca Dai, also known as Dai Jianyong, was born in 1976 in Wuyuan County, Jiangxi Province, where his mother has been sent from Shanghai during Mao Zedong’s ‘Up to the Mountains and Down to the Countryside Movement’. Later, he returned to Shanghai to live with his grandparents at school age, graduating from the Fine Arts College of Shanghai University in 1999. He credits the living experience in Wuyuan and Shanghai – a dramatic change in his life – as giving a great influence on the theme of his photography practices. Dai was the Award winner of 2012 Pingyao International Photography Festival, and was one of the nominees for the 2018 Jimei x Arles Discovery Award. His work has been shown widely in curated exhibition and photo festivals in China, including ‘the Summer of Love – Shanghai Center of Photography, curated by Karen Smith in 2019; ‘Ten Directions – The 10th Anniversary Exhibition of Three Shadows Photography Award’, Beijing (2018); ‘The 2nd Session of Changjiang International Photography & Video Biennale’, Chongqing (2017); and ‘Contemporary Photography in China 2009-2014’, Shanghai (2014). Coca Dai currently lives and works in Shanghai.

The White Rabbit Collection is one of the world’s most extensive and significant collections of contemporary art from China. With a focus on works created since the year 2000, the Collection contains almost 3,000 works by over 750 artists and continues to expand. Note that when you click on the link below you will be forwarded to the White Rabbit Collection website.

Explore the work of Coca Dai in the collection database