The Impossible Truth Presented at PHOTOFAIRS Shanghai 2026

On 7 May, The Impossible Truth by João Miguel Barros was presented at PHOTOFAIRS Shanghai 2026, during a session dedicated to performance art and photography.

The event marked the presentation of the publication within one of Asia’s leading international photography fairs and included a conference exploring the relationship between performance, image and documentation in contemporary art.

The session brought together João Miguel Barros, iion Ho, editor of the book, and Chang Xin, one of the participants in the historic 1995 performance To Add One Meter to an Anonymous Mountain, revisited throughout the publication.

Developed through several years of research, The Impossible Truth investigates the artistic, historical and political context surrounding the Beijing East Village and one of the most influential performances in contemporary Chinese art. Combining archival documents, interviews, testimonies and previously unpublished images, the book proposes a critical reassessment of authorship, memory and truth within performance art history.

The presentation at PHOTOFAIRS Shanghai 2026 further expanded the international dialogue surrounding the publication, creating a space for discussion on the role of photography in preserving, transforming and reinterpreting performative acts over time.