Between 2015 and 2017, by burning and coating acoustic foam panels, Zhang Ding produced two series of reliefs: Sound Absorber, and The Kind of Need. The two series maintain significant relationships with Zhang Ding’s total and holistic art practise that emphasize factors such as live experience, presence of community and intersubjectivity.
The Vortex series of reliefs, named after the eponymous exhibition taken place in 2017 in Shanghai, further expands Zhang Ding’s materialist exploration: for the Vortex, Zhang Ding no longer uses acoustic foam panels, but opts for the historically significant material of brass, plated with 24k gold. By meticulously eroding the surface, Zhang Ding delineates the geological features of major gold mines around the world. Besides the absurd gesture of depicting gold with gold, or drawing a treasure map in gold, the Vortex series of reliefs speaks to the large-scale art work of virtual environment also under the same title, revealing the often neglected meaning of the relationship between the geological and desire, in the age of the Anthropocene.
Detail pictures:
Facebook
Instagram
WeChat 微信