He Yunchang

signed and titled in Chinese, dated 24^{th March 2002} and 12^{th January 2005}, and numbered 2/10

Other examples exhibited:
Jakarta, Indonesia National Gallery, The Ability to Exist - He Yunchang Solo Exhibition, 2008
Exeter, Spacex Gallery, Liverpool Biennial, He Yunchang Solo Exhibition, 2006
Kunstmuseum Bern; Hamburger Kunsthalle, Mahjong - Chinese Contemporary Art from The Sigg Collection, 2005-06, p. 312-313, illustrated

Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, China Onward, Denmark, 2007, p. 112-113, illustrated
Centre Pompidou, Alors, la Chine?, Paris, 2003, pp. 282-283, illustrated

There is a very small tear approximately .5 cm long to the bottom edge on the right corner near the signature. Otherwise the work is generally in very good overall condition. This work is not sold with the frame. It will be removed from its temporary frame to be shipped rolled.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

He Yunchang is a performance artist who follows in the tradition of Zhang Huan, subjecting himself to tests of strength and endurance and recording them on video. At one point, he cut a huge circle in England, roughly circumnavigating the island while holding a rock of some size in his hand. He belongs to a generation of artists who have continued in the footsteps of artists who are now in mid-career.  But his approach is raw, and he tends to use his body roughly, usually enduring some uncomfortable or even painful physical state for the sake of grand circumstances meant to quite literally embody formidable states of being. But He's situations are personal and not political; his performances suggest an Everyman, someone who is representative of human nature under duress.

In the 2001 photograph entitled Wrestle One and One Hundred (Lot 168), we regard the absurd footage of He Yunchang wrestling one partner after the next in an outside site at Kunming. He wrestled with one hundred people in a row; the visuals document that he won 18 times and was defeated 82 times. The entire course of the performance lasted a bit longer than an hour. A vital sense of the absurd is key to our understanding of He, who withstands extraordinary conditions in order to comment on our limited means. In consequence, we meet the presence of our own boundaries, in ways that illuminate both our confidence and fear.

-Jonathan Goodman