Zhang Ting Reimagines Textbook Boy XiaoMing in TechDiumMory at TANK Shanghai
From July 25 to October 25, 2026, TANK Shanghai will showcase TechDiumMory, featuring three artists: Zhang Ting, Jinkun Zhu, and LazyBackHome (Zhang Nan). Zhang's pieces are centered around XiaoMing, a classic schoolboy figure from Chinese textbooks, represented in a comic style reminiscent of Wit & Humour. The exhibition will include diverse forms like paintings, sculptures, installations, and videos that explore childhood and pop culture themes. Zhang's "Never-Ending Adventure" series critiques "Lao D" toys, with one piece creatively transforming a toy sword into an archaeological artifact. Born in Ningbo in 1999, he completed his B.A. in 2021 and M.F.A. in 2024 at the China Academy of Art and is now working on a second Master’s at Tokyo University of the Arts.
Key facts
- TechDiumMory runs at TANK Shanghai from July 25 to October 25, 2026
- The three-person exhibition features Jinkun Zhu, LazyBackHome (Zhang Nan) and Zhang Ting
- TANK Shanghai is located at 2380 Longteng Avenue, Xuhui District, Shanghai
- Zhang Ting's central figure XiaoMing is the generic schoolboy of Chinese textbooks and workbooks
- XiaoMing is repainted in the visual language of the comic magazine Wit & Humour (幽默大师)
- The Never-Ending Adventure series draws on memories of unlicensed "Lao D" toys sold at school-gate shops
- "Lao D" derives from the initial sound of 盗版 (daoban), meaning counterfeit or pirated
- Zhang Ting was born in 1999 in Ningbo, Zhejiang, China, and studied at the China Academy of Art and Tokyo University of the Arts
Entities
Artists
- Zhang Ting
- Jinkun Zhu
- LazyBackHome
- Zhang Nan
Institutions
- TANK Shanghai
- Wit & Humour
- China Academy of Art
- Tokyo University of the Arts
- MARTIN GOYA BUSINESS VERRE LIQUIDE
- MARTIN GOYA BUSINESS HOME Theatre
- Ren Community Art Museum
- SURPLUS SPACE
- ScheinSpace
- dongx3
- MARTIN GOYA BUSINESS
- White Rabbit Gallery
- CC Foundation
- Catapult Contemporary
Locations
- Shanghai
- China
- Xuhui District
- Huangpu River
- Ningbo
- Zhejiang
- Tokyo
- Japan
- Hangzhou
- Australia
- Vienna
- Austria