Li Zhanyang ‘Rent’ - Rent Collection Yard

‘Rent’ – Rent Collection Yard (2007) is the title of the largest and most complex sculptural installation Li Zhanyang (born 1969, Jilin Province, China) has ever created. Taking eighteen months of production after nearly a decade of conceptual incubation, Li Zhanyang’s ‘Rent’ – Rent Collection Yard is a humorous and subjective look at the Chinese contemporary art scene. It is informed by the artist’s personal experience. Characters, both local and international, are brought to life. The 34 life-size coloured fiberglass figures of this installation are modeled after the likeness of various people familiar to the artist – among them international celebrities as well as some only known in Chinese contemporary art circles. They include Chinese and Western artists, curators, collectors, gallery owners, gallery assistants, and art students. The gathered subjects were chosen according to their public or professional roles. Displayed on a real stage they were designed to showcase each figure in a striking a pose – dramatic or absurd, some of them with imbuing mordant satire. Following six conceptual themes (Paying Rent, Foot Washing, Raping, Oppressing, Dying a Martyr, and History Observed), the sculptures are spread throughout three exhibition spaces of Galerie Urs Meile in Beijing. Image: Li Zhanyang, 'Rent' - Rent Collection Yard, 2007, detail, installation at Galerie Urs Meile, Beijing, 37 life size fiberglass figures. From left to right: "Opressing" Li Zhanyang; "Foot Washing"; "Opressing" Zhang Huan; "History Observed" Joseph Beuys, Mao Zedong. Courtesy: Galerie Urs Meile, Beijing-Lucerne.