My work is autobiographical, poetical and metaphysical for ranging from documentary and performative photography and video to sculpture and installation. I am interested in disclosure universal human nature through investigating the relationship, the cultural conflicts and the curiosity of spiritual existence, both politically and personally. I photograph and videotape myself as an object, and reveal hopes out of the traumatized relationships and experiences. My work becomes a dreamland where I can accept the reality. In the Birth of Tragedy, Nietzsche is saying, the world is full of tragedy. Art is the only thing can save people. I also photograph strangers in a particular behaviors and environment. Such as Chinese lower middle class Children playing in the place near they live, Chinese local people riding bicycle, international Asia students living in New York, etc. I am interested in how human behaviors represent cultural and environmental changes. Other than photography and video, I dedicate myself to ceramics among other disciplines. My ceramic sculpture is characteristic human figure. The figures are all narratively related to each other. I am interested in the ambiguous between innocence and danger, beauty and repulsion. The cartoon figures are loosely made. The figure traces the plasticity of sculpture. It creates a micro silent fairy tale world, which is inner connected by the figure’s “human” energy. In the other sculpture works, I like to experimental with fragile and feminine material such as yarn, hair and rice paper. Including ceramics, I like to challenge the power of delicate through materiality. Such as, using yarn to support ceramic, waving clay, sewing hair on rice paper, etc. My recent work is cyanotype over 100 wheel thronging pottery works that I made over a year on to rice paper. The prints captured the changing cycle and shadow of the object. The exposed blue brush stroke creates a sense of abstract watercolor painting. I believe, just the act of making art can be transformative.
Resource : http://www.shishigami.com/srfa/artw/artists/zhang/zhangpr.html
Pratt Institute Intensive English Program 