‘The only picture they have is of Mao Zedong. It’s great. It looks like a silkscreen.’ Andy Warhol Warhol coincided the creation of his Mao series with President Nixon’s highly political and publicised meeting with Chairman Mao Zedong in communist China in 1972. This historic event ended years of diplomatic detachment between the two nations. The series can be read as a manifestation of Warhol’s obsession with fame and celebrity. His use of one of the most recognisable images of the century; the portrait of Mao reproduced extensively across China throughout the Cultural Revolution (1966–76), draws seemingly contradictory parallels between the power of Communist political propaganda and that of advertising in a Capitalist state. Warhol’s Mao reflects this cultural exchange, bringing a figure emblematic of communist ideals into the context of Western pop culture, creating a visual dialogue between two opposing ideological worlds. Warhol employs his distinctive vibrant palette to transform Mao’s sombre, official portrait into a lively and almost playful series. The use of unconventional colours introduces a sense of irreverence, hinting at a critique of the seriousness typically associated with depictions of political leaders. Within this portrait, Warhol aligns Mao closer to a commercialised object rather than a powerful political leader.