65 kg

Creator(s)

Huan ZHANG 張洹
Dan-Wen XING 邢丹文

Preview

Date

6-11-1994

Format

Photograph

Materials

Action Art (sleeping mats, hot plate, steel pan, iron chain, leather strap, disinfectant spray)

Group/Movement

In this action, Zhang operates out of his own living room. Prior to beginning his action, he sewed together hundreds of white sleeping mats. 25 of them lined the floor. According to an article by Kong Bu, stepping on the mats produces an uncomfortable feeling. In the center of the room, dozens of mats are piled on top of each other. Resting on the pile is a hot plate heating up a steel metal pan similar to those used in hospitals. Against the wall, the artist has piled mats all the way up to the ceiling. The artist is strung up to the ceiling by chains with his head held in place by a leather strap. Two doctors have attached tubes and a blood bag to his body and silently extracted 250 mL of blood, which drips into the pan. When the blood came in contact with the hot pan, it sizzled and spurted outwards, filling the room with its distinct scent. Before the action began, the artist also sprayed the walls with disinfectant to further increase the olfactory experience. The title of the action comes from his weight of exactly 65 kg. The artist has sent two photos from this action to the archive. The first depicts the two doctors setting up the hot plate while Zhang's body hangs over them. The second shows both the action and the cameramen, friends, and other spectators. The photographer of these images is Xing Dan-Wen, friend of the artist and East Village colleague. For more information, read Kong Bu's article in "Zhang Huan: Altered States” (2007), published by Charta and Asia Society, archived on the artist’s website: http://www.zhanghuan.com/wzMF/info_28.aspx?itemid=1104. (Nicole Wang ‘26).