Vivien Zhang
Echo Burst, 2022
Acrylic, chalk, and oil on canvas
210 x 180 cm
82 5/8 x 70 7/8 in
82 5/8 x 70 7/8 in
Copyright The Artist
Further images
The starting point for this painting is the Sterculia lanceolata plant native to Southern China. Zhang’s only experience of this plant is from a distance through digital images sent by...
The starting point for this painting is the Sterculia lanceolata plant native to Southern China. Zhang’s only experience of this plant is from a distance through digital images sent by her mother from Hong Kong during the Coronavirus lockdown. Researching this plant further, she discovered that the name in Chinese translates to ‘fake-Sterculia monosperma’. Zhang is interested in this linguistic hierarchy and how, as species, both plants occupy the same ranking, but, in the Chinese language, artificial derogatory qualities have been attributed. This is an analogy with which Zhang examines ideas around unwanted societal hierarchies attributed to people and communities due to race, class or nationality.
Exhibitions
2024-2025: Chaque vie est une histoire, group show, Palais de la Porte Dorée, Paris(8 November - 9 February)
2022-2023: Barbe à Papa, group show curated by Cédric Fauq, CAPC Musée d'art Contemporain de Bordeaux, FR (3 November 2022 - 14 May 2023)