“Empty Body of COVID-19”
May 5th, 2020
“I flew directly from Taipei to Beijing on April 22nd and was quarantined at the hotel for 14 days in accordance with the regulations. During this period, I accidentally collected the used empty bottles of mineral water and left them with in a newcrown virus shape when I finished the quarantine. I hope they will not be too annoyed when tidying up the room. (The work is composed of 66 empty bottles of Binglu brand mineral water, created in Room 842, Xinhualian Lijing Hot Spring Hotel, Shunyi District, Beijing)”
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"Soul"
"The Imagination of Living in Groups"
"The Imagination of the Bat"
"One day, I placed a shoehorn and a shoe brush diagonally crossing on the carpet. In the middle of a circular pattern, I found that the crossing is indeed prone to generate a mysterious power, but looking diagonally does not feel like looking straight. Looking from sideways will produce the power of deterrence, denial, and even belief, or the denial of belief? No wonder soldiers often use weapons to do this action. However, it seems that the cross in the front perspective looks more constructive. The two kinds of crosses lead to two different directions. Perhaps this is the difference between a cross and a sickle and axe? Later, I also put the hairdryer and iron provided in the hotel room on this cross pattern, creating some metaphors, thus providing more space for imagination."
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"Oblique Cross —Shoehorn and Shoe Brush"
"Oblique Cross—Stir up Trouble and Handle Trouble"
"Stone Finger"
“After breakfast the next day, I took out a roll of toilet paper out of curiosity and looked at it, thinking that I should do something to prove that I would not be bored. So I opened the toilet paper and rubbed it with my hands, unfolding it bit by bit, until I finally pulled it all apart and rubbed every part through my hands. I put it on the ground and played for a while, then slowly rolled it back—it became a roll of toilet paper that had been manipulated. Compared with a new roll of toilet paper, its volume became larger and looser, but its height was still the same.”
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"Drying the Wet Tissue"
"Anti-gravity"
"Cleaning"
“Scene from the Doomsday”
View of “Scene from the Doomsday”
“For the last piece of work, I chose a scene that I hoped for in my heart, namely, a great “Scene from the Doomsday”, a scene of ending, a scene of venting, a collapsed, decadent, mixed, anti-gravity, upside-down, and completely free scene that doesn't care about anything. Thus, I made an artificial "Doomsday Scene" according to the above logic of all the items I had collected and left in the room.
My method is to add things while taking pictures, just like the process of going upstairs. Each retake means improvement and refinement in my vision, which forms the interaction between me and materials and space. It is worth noticing that this is not an imitation, because there is no such scene, but there are similar doomsday pictures in history. The common purpose of these scenes forms an abstract logical backlash for me, and once again creates a new doomsday picture.”
Cited from Zhan Wang, “Self-statement: Quarantine for 14 Days”
Originally Chinese version published on art.ifeng.com.
Translated and edited by CAFA ART INFO with artist Zhan Wang’s authorization.
*Zhan Wang was on the flight.
Zhan Wang (b. in 1962 in Beijing, China) graduated in 1996 from the Sculpture Department of the Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA) and currently lives and works in Beijing where he teaches sculpture at CAFA.
Zhan Wang is considered to be one of the most important contemporary artists in China whose artistic practice employs mediums such as, sculpture, installation, performance, photography and video. Zhan Wang’s practice is firmly rooted in the culture by which he has been surrounded with over the course of his life and traditional Chinese notions. Whilst the artist attempts to interpret the features of traditional culture from an individual perspective and by means of a distinctive creativity he is able to deduce a new and poetically transposition of the effects of history, traditions, the spirit and the natural world onto the human situation and perceptions.
In 1994, he exhibited the “Mao Suit” series for the first time; in 1995, he created the “Artificial Rocks” series. In 2010, Zhan Wang created the “My Personal Universe” series, while in 2017, he presented his “Forms in Flux” series for the first time, and he created the “Sensing” series in 2019. Zhan Wang’s latest solo exhibition was entitled “Zhan Wang: Objects of Idea”, showing 22 works of different creative directions from 1988.
Video, Image and Text Courtesy of the Artist.
Edited by Sue and Emily
