Qiu Xiaofei often creates a dialogue and builds connections between his personal experiences and the context of his time. The tone of his paintings evokes a sense of nostalgia, drawing viewers into memories of the past. Medical treatment is one of his recurring themes. In the 1950s, Harbin was transformed into a heavy industrial city, and as the economy improved, so did medical conditions. The experience of receiving treatment with cold medical instruments became one of the artist’s visual memories from his youth.

Ophthalmic Examination, created in 2009, depicts a doctor holding a flashlight to examine a patient’s eyes. The viewing experience is direct and immersive rather than detached, as from a bystander’s perspective. The blurred forms suggest an impressionistic link between reality and sensory perception, through which the artist articulates the distance between lived experience and objective reality.