Yang Zhenzhong
Yang Zhenzhong | China b.1968 | I will die (Shanghai version) 2001 | Betacam SP transferred to hard drive: colour, stereo, 20 minutes, China; ed. 4/5 | The Kenneth and Yasuko Myer Collection of Contemporary Asian Art. Purchased 2006 with funds from Michael Simcha Baevski through the Queensland Art Gallery Foundation | Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | © The artist
The Hand, the Eye & the Heart | 1 October 2011 — 12 February 2012 | GOMA | Free admission
A meditation on the universal subject of mortality, I will die (Shanghai version) features people of varying cultural backgrounds in Shanghai cafes, bars, homes and offices. Yang Zhenzhong asks these people to recite the phrase ‘I will die’ directly into the camera and as it zooms in on their face, draws attention to the participants’ non-verbal expressions. Many laugh or giggle at the weight of the words. The difficulty each subject has in acknowledging the truth of these simple words is variable and striking. Death has different meanings in different cultures but unites us all. Yang also undertook versions of the project in other countries, in the interest of comparing cultural responses to the recognition of mortality.
