Relics of Survival

“The importance of 49 days is dually significant in that in Buddhist theology, 49 days is the amount of time the soul remains on earth between death and transmigration.”

Zhang Huan, Pagoda, 2009. Grey brick, steel and taxidermied pig, 264 inches x 335 inches. Courtesy of the artist and Blum & Poe, Los Angeles.

Zhang Huan

The central focus of Zhang Huan’s first exhibition at Blum & Poe is the presentation of Pagoda (2009), a monumentally scaled brick and steel structure, originally exhibited at the Shanghai Art Museum in February 2010. The bell shaped pagoda (pagodas were traditionally intended to house the relics of enlightened Buddhist monks) is comprised of salvaged brick, steel, and most notably a taxidermied pig, which rests in an opening near the center of the structure, emerging periodically to blow clouds of incense ash from its mouth.

In part, Pagoda serves as a tribute to Zhu Gangqiang, the “Cast-Iron Pig,” now famous for having survived 49 days on rainwater and driftwood during the devastating 2008 Sichuan earthquake, which killed nearly 70,000 people. The importance of 49 days is dually significant in that in Buddhist theology, 49 days is the amount of time the soul remains on earth between death and transmigration. Upon hearing the story of the “Cast-Iron Pig” Zhang Huan negotiated his purchase and has subsequently adopted him into his studio, employing a full time caretaker and making his story of survival and virility a critical part of his current artistic practice.

In addition to Pagoda, which will occupy its own gallery space at Blum & Poe, Zhang Huan will present a new series of brick sculptures related to Zhu Gangqiang, as well as a suite of ash-paintings made in grayscale with burned incense ash collected from Buddhist temples. These auxiliary bodies of work will be split between the first and second floor galleries, giving Zhang Huan full use of the building.