He Yunchang: The Golden Sunshine

He Yunchang (b. 1967 in Kunming, Yunnan) is one of the most important performing artists in China. He studied painting at the Yunnan Art Institute and moved to Beijing in the 1990s, where his first performative works were created. Over the past two decades, he was best known for a series of radical actions. For instance, he had his hand cast in concrete for 24 hours, tried—hanging from a crane—to divide a river in half with his own blood, burned the clothes he was wearing, he ventured to stay on a rock by the Niagara Falls or had a rib removed from his chest. What at first glance might appear as brave stunts is actually strictly formal, highly referential Live Art with a compelling emotional impact. He Yunchang refers to questions about the basic conditions of being, which he connects with the religious and popular traditions of China and ancient Greek philosophy—and at the same time references the traditions of performance art of the 1960s and ’70s.

He Yunchang’s body is the fundamental medium in his artistic practice. It is the instrument that enables him to express his beliefs, willpower and vital force. “I have no reservations in my art practice,” the artist states, “my only requirement is to stay alive. I use performance art to express what I care about and what I despise”.

This show, curated by Ai Weiwei, is He Yunchang’s first comprehensive retrospective in the German-speaking parts of the world.