Zhang DALI – 2003 – Chinese Offsprings

Zhang Dali first transformed the heads of a hundred Chinese migrants into a death mask. These people, who go to the city to raise capital, are then introduced in their daily posture. Chinese ‘offsprings’ stand, sit and lie. They are hung at their feet against the ceiling. Migrants who are obliged to go out into the world in order to survive carry a number instead of a name. Dali presents them as a floating people who help to build urban structures. They are a work product and at the same time a dehumanised consumer good.