 onfucius comes upon a crying woman and asks as to why she is crying. The woman responds that a tiger has eaten her son and husband. Confucius responds “why do you live in the wild, why don’t you go live in the city?” She balks at the idea “ The city, with all its political oppression is far more ferocious”
Confucius’ story “Tyranny is more ferocious than a beast” underlines Zhang Dali’s new series of bronze sculptures, “Man and Beast”. These new works show the artist departing from his signature, stark realist mode of working and moving towards the elusive realm of imagination, myth and fantasy. Juxtaposing life-size animals with human figures, these surrealist unions are rife with symbolic implications of a brutish violence that pervades our society and politics. In China animals traditionally symbolize power and ferocity. Some of Zhang’s animals are imaginary or altered in scale, some are poised to attack, while others are plainly seated upon the human figures. The compromising arrangements allude to the common man’s eternal struggle with power and the hostile structures he has enwrapped himself in.
Zhang Dali is the bad-boy artist whose ubiquitous and mysterious graffiti took Beijing by force in the mid-1990’s. He has since gone on to achieve international fame. Zhang Dali has recently been profiled in both ART Forum and Art in America for his participation in The Gwanju Biennial. His “Chinese Offspring” sculptures have also been recently acquired by famous British collector, Charles Saatchi
Chiling, 2007, Cuprum sculpture, 165×100×130cm
Horrified, 2007, Cuprum sculpture, 170×60×100cm
Melancholy, 2007, Cuprum sculpture, 230×100×285cm
Intimidated, 2007, Cuprum sculpture, 220×75×290cm
Speechless, 2007, Cuprum sculpture, 155×85×200cm
Sorrowful, 2007, Cuprum sculpture, 165×55×100cm
Frightened, 2007, Cuprum sculpture, 120×100×130cm
Gloomy, 2007, Cuprum sculpture, 180×50×145cm
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