Zhang Peili's 'A Day' at Tai Kwun: A Wheelchair's Unstable Journey
Zhang Peili's new video installation 'A Day' (2026) premieres at Tai Kwun's F Hall Studio in Hong Kong. The 12-minute, eight-channel work adopts an unstable first-person perspective from a wheelchair, lurching through domestic interiors, parks, courtyards, infirmaries, hospital corridors, and waiting rooms. The soundtrack features the closing notes of 'Xinwen Lianbo', China's nightly state-news broadcast. Disability and illness have long been procedural motifs in Zhang's practice, from his CT/MRI-based sculptures in marble, onyx, crystal, and resin to his early painting series 'X?' (1986–89) featuring latex gloves. His landmark video '30x30' (1988) shows gloved hands smashing and reassembling a mirror, while 'Document on Hygiene No. 3' (1991) depicts obsessive washing of a live chicken. Unlike these earlier works, 'A Day' immerses the viewer in the protagonist's unsteady yet persistent movement.
Key facts
- Zhang Peili's 'A Day' is a 12-minute, eight-channel video installation commissioned for Tai Kwun's F Hall Studio in Hong Kong.
- The work adopts a first-person perspective from a wheelchair, moving through various spaces.
- The soundtrack uses the closing notes of 'Xinwen Lianbo', China's nightly state-news broadcast.
- Zhang has previously used his own CT and MRI scans to create 3D objects in marble, onyx, crystal, and resin.
- His painting series 'X?' (1986–89) features latex gloves as a recurring motif.
- '30x30' (1988) shows gloved hands smashing and reassembling a mirror, and is considered China's first video art.
- 'Document on Hygiene No. 3' (1991) depicts obsessive washing of a live chicken.
- Earlier works place the viewer at a distant vantage, while 'A Day' offers an immersive POV.
Entities
Artists
- Zhang Peili
Institutions
- Tai Kwun
Locations
- Hong Kong
- China