Mountain Is Still a Mountain

the long version

Known primarily for his rigorous and demanding performances of the 1990s, Zhang's more recent work has consisted of sculptures and paintings made using incense ash gathered from the rituals and ceremonies performed daily at Buddhist temples in the artist's native city of Shanghai. Entitled 'The Mountain is Still a Mountain', a reference to the teachings of a Chan Buddhist master from the Tang Dynasty period, this exhibition presented a series of large-scale figurative ash paintings that touch on diverse cultural, political and spiritual themes.