Rén Space is honored to present the opening of Zhang Peili’s second Solo Exhibition at Rén Space, The Annual Report of OCD, on November 5, 2019. This exhibition will showcase Zhang Peili’s latest body of work in an unprecedented and groundbreaking approach to the study and expression of “self” and “self image.” The artist breaks free from convention and appropriates some of the most advanced technical components from the 4th industrial revolution. With these new transformational enabling tools, along with the traditional techniques from art, science, medicine, and industries, the artist articulates and facilitates his deeply personal exploration into the fundamental questions of human condition. And during that process, he erases the gaps between modernity and tradition, reality and unreality, life and substance, between individuals, and even the essential difference between human and other forms of life.
Premiering in this exhibition are works from a multi year project that are rooted in the artist’s personal and societal experiences. The artist extracts the digital information of himself sourced through the latest medical technology and transforms the visualization of abstract data into tangible and tactile forms. The works are presented in several modules with different media and in various forms. One module of the work is all about translation of his physical self; the parts of his body which are invisible to naked eyes, bones and organs, are manifested into visible and touchable forms through multi-layered process. Another module presents various expressions of digital data of the artist’s physical body. With the light installation, , the artist utilizes lighting as a tool for the first time to create an integrated environment which expresses the binary codes of self in white space.
The title of the exhibition, The Annual Report of OCD, is related to both the artist and others. It is used as both an inducement and misdirection to the works. “If you really view the works from the perspective of this title, you will be disoriented and perhaps disappointed because they don’t provide bases or anything specific related to Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.” – Zhang Peili.
