Zhang Dali is known for Demolitions, photographs of his graffiti work, as AK47, in which he made graffiti profiles on buildings that were in the process of being demolished, on walls, bridges and underpasses, all over Beijing. Zhang Dali's pairs manipulated photographs from Mao-era China, with unaltered images from original negatives, showing how photography was used as a propaganda tool, exemplify the use of artistic censorship for political motives.



Biography of Zhang Dali

1963 Born in Harbin, China

1987 Graduated from National Academy of Fine Arts and Design, Beijing

Lives and works in Beijing.

Zhang Dali, also known as AK-47 and 18K, makes art that questions the official face of contemporary Chinese society through graffiti, sculpture and installation. As a young man, Zhang was a successful painter in a more traditional and acceptable way ? abstract canvases and playful interactions with the characters of the Chinese language ? however, he grew despondent with the lack of impact his work had in galleries and turned to graffiti in order to make his art more visible. Zhang's best known project is ?Dialogue? in which he sprays stylised outlines of heads on condemned buildings around Beijing. This tagging highlights the swiftness with which the past is being turned to rubble in an attempt to transform the city into a modern metropolis at the sacrifice of almost all traditional architecture.

Zhang Dali's intention throughout his body of work is to call attention to the changes taking place in Chinese society primarily due to the destruction of long standing communities. He wants to enter into a dialogue with his compatriots whom he sees as becoming increasingly estranged as the drive towards modernisation continues. His early graffiti work can still be seen all over the Chinese capital. His signature outline of a human head was found, among other places, on traditional courtyard houses marked for demolition. The artist called this graffiti work "Dialogue" and documented it by photography.

Zhang Dali's work was shown in the 2002 Guangzhou Triennial, ARCO 2002, and Between Past and Future: New Photography and Video from China ,China Art Now (Singapore Art Museum), Contemporary Chinese Photography (Finland Museum of Photography, Helsinki), Hot Pot (Kunstnernes Hus, Oslo), Beijing in London (ICA), and Fuck Off (Eastlink Gallery, Shanghai). His work will be included in the fall at the Gwangiu Biennial, S. Korea and Duke University, as well as Kiang Gallery in Atlanta.

CONCLUSION

Zhang Dali, his sculptures are living taxonomy, a human version of insect samples ("biao ben") except the specimens are live people. It is a documentation of the species at a specific moment in history.Zhang Dali wanted to bring these people and their hard, bitter lives to the attention of others.

Find More about Zhang Dali Paintings and Exhibitions at Saatchi-Gallery

http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/artists/zhang_dali.htm