The UCCA just opened with Zhang Huan’s breathtaking installation Hope Tunnel. He is one of China’s most well known conceptual artists but he started his career in the 1980s as a performance artist. His physically traumatic performances captured the international art scene. After a stint in the USA he returned to the motherland in 2005. This is the same year he traveled to Tibet where his soul was awakened by Buddhism.

Two Ash Officers at entrance of UCCA

Zhang Huan’s most iconic installations and paintings are made from Ash collected from Buddhist temples. Burning incense is an ancient tradition that still remains strong in modern China. The ashes carry the hopes, dreams and prayers of the Chinese people. The process of gathering the ashes requires patience and finesse since Monks do not accept payments, rather the artist had to prove his cause was worthy of the ashes.

This massive installation Hope Tunnel takes center stage in the UCCA’s main exhibition hall. I was moved to tears as I watched the documentary of this piece. The Sichuan Earthquake is an event that shook the Chinese nation and brought together its people.

At 2:28 p.m. on May 12, 2008, on an otherwise ordinary afternoon, the ground in China began to tremble. Something had fractured deep within the earth, rending and ripping, turning peaks into valleys and valleys into tombs. When the wave of destruction hit, countless fragile lives were lost and many more were injured. Sichuan’s once-lush landscape was turned into a desolate wasteland, a swath of death.
Zhang Huan

Freight train no. 21043 collided with a massive boulder when it went through tunnel no. 109 on the Baoji–Chengdu railway during the Earthquake. Zhang Huan got in touch with the salvage company and bought the train.

When we behold the train that Zhang Huan purchased, refurbished and installed here, we may find ourselves dwarfed by the scale of the wreckage, dismayed by the destructive force of nature and daunted by the challenges that lie ahead. Perhaps we should feel humbled by the shadow of that awesome bulk, but as the title reminds us, while we may be small, we are not powerless. Through remembrance, reflection and concerted action, each one of us has the power to help—and to hope.
Jérôme Sans, UCCA Director

UCCA Zhang Huan Hope Tunnel
Artzinechina Zhang Huan Studio
Art Daily Zhang Huan Hope Tunnel
China Daily Sichuan Earthquake Death Toll