Paperback, full colour, 80 pages, W148 x H211mm
Published to coincide with the exhibitions, performances and off-site projects at Ikon, Aspex Gallery and Manchester Art Gallery, this publication focuses on the artwork of Beijing-based artist Zhao Bandi.
Bandi’s practice encompasses photography, video and performance and is inspired by public service information and government propaganda. In each series of work, the artist and his toy panda, a constant companion and symbol of China’s one child policy, feature in photographs in which they engage in a smart, deadpan dialogue about issues of concern to contemporary society. A wide selection of these are reproduced in the catalogue. These images are annotated with speech-bubbles and slogans, enabling them to directly address a mass audience in the style of an advertising campaign.
The series entitled A Tale of Love Gone Wrong for Pandaman is based around a copyright lawsuit which the artist filed against the Beijing Evening News and the magazine World Knowledge. The book includes photographs from the courtroom and the transcript of the letter from an ex-girlfriend that Bandi read out in court in a farcical subversion of the justice system.
In addition, the catalogue features an interview between the artist and Karen Smith, one of the foremost authorities on Chinese contemporary art and an essay by Beijing-based curator and art critic, Huang Du.