Zhang Huan’s Family Tree: Does Culture Smother the Individual?

The constant conflict between the self and what lies beyond the self is a recurring theme in art. The untouched and unknowable aspects of the private identity may sometimes mix with the constructed nature of culture in odd ways. Yet even these interactions between the two contributes to who an individual becomes- perhaps even subverting the divisive binary. The notions of identity, self, culture, and roots are all thematically significant in the art of Zhang Huan, especially in his performance piece titled, Family Tree. Using his own body as canvas, the Chinese artist has also explored the nuances of tradition, immigration, and diaspora in his pieces- many of which hold essential social commentary.

The early foundations of Zhang Huan’s art:
Born in Anyang, China in 1965, Zhang Huan is one of the most internationally acclaimed performance artists from the country. He has later branched into painting and sculptures, in which his cultural identity and his relationship with it, continue to take centre stage. Graduating with an advanced degree in traditional painting techniques- from the Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing in 1993- much of Zhang Huan’s early pieces showcased the human body to drive home important messages. He remained unafraid of putting his own body through extremes for the sake of his art. In his piece, 12 Square Meters (1994) he sat inside a very small room, naked and with a shaved head. His body was lathered with fish oil and honey, then sitting for an hour as swarms of flies covered him-crawling into his ears, eyes, and nose. The artist, at the end, stood up and cleaned himself in a pond nearby. Shot on black and white film, the performance piece was an effort to highlight the lack of clean toilets, and the terrible condition of public toilets in the country. A childhood deprived of access to decent sanitation facilities reflects greatly in his work, and so do other socio-political issues rooted in Chinese society.

1/2 (Text) (1998)
Source: Public Delivery

Family Tree: What does culture mean to the individual?

In 2000, Zhang Huan created Family Tree, a performance that was later made permanent in a series of photos. After moving to New York in the late 1990s, the cultural differences and the immigrant experience became important arenas of discourse in Zhang’s work- as seen in this piece. In the performance, three calligraphers wrote Chinese sayings, names, personal stories and more, with black ink on Zhang Huan’s face. The process was recorded in nine photographs that showed the gradual covering of the artist’s face with the characters. His face then becomes an immediate medium that connects and marks his Chinese heritage- visible for the world to see. He mentions that the conflict he experiences with the environment may occur within his own body and hence, “I find that my body is the only direct approach that allows me to feel the world and also let the world know me.”However, by the ninth photograph, the writing transforms into illegible swathes of ink covering the artist’s individuality. The writing also included references from the old practice of Chinese physiognomy- the use of a person’s facial features to divine their personality, biological aspects or even future. This loses meaning, as the very same physiognomy that is supposed to highlight the facial features, completely covers them. This contradictory revelation parallels the relationship shared by culture and individual – the very same culture that is so essential to individual identity, also smothers them. As Zhang Huan describes, “More culture is slowly smothering us and turning our faces black. It is impossible to take away your inborn blood and personality…My face followed the daylight till it slowly darkened. I cannot tell who I am. My identity has disappeared…” The overwhelming ink marks his genealogy as Chinese when in another culture- while hiding other parts of his identity under the layers.

Family Tree had a first version named 1/2 (Text) from 1998, created just before leaving for the U.S. Zhang had friends write phrases all over his face and upper body in Chinese characters- literally wearing his identity on his skin. It also pointed out the indecipherable nature of his cultural upbringing to the foreign, just as the characters cannot be read by those who do not know the language. In 2001, Zhang also created the Shanghai Family Tree– where he posed with a man and a woman. When part of the live art exhibit titled 15 Rooms in 2015, Zhang performed a new version that involved genealogy being painted on to the faces of the participants. The Family Tree was exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and other locations, owing to its significance in cultural understanding.

Shanghai Family Tree (2001)
Source: Public Delivery

The universality of culture:

Zhang Huan’s work dissects the individual and the roles they play in society. He sees the potential in their action, hence, using his art to convey human struggles and conflicts. As important as his ethnicity is to him, his art has also always appealed to humanity as a whole. Family Tree itself represents a universal conflict- the constant tussle between what you are and society’s notion of what you should be. This internal battle is not unique to a single culture- but ubiquitous in a world of heightened migration and displaced psyches. The emotion that surrounds his art is widely accessible and human- even when the work may appear extreme or rising from a specific cultural context. Zhang Huan is a creator true to the self, honouring both the roots that made him and the branches that expanded outward. The complex experience of disintegrated, yet whole individuality forms the core of his pieces- the individual exists within the culture that made them, but they are also defined by so much more than age-old tradition and cultural contexts.