On International Museum Day, Zhao Bandi donated "a donkey in a tie" to Ullens.

On 18 May, International Museum Day, the UCCA Ullens Center for Contemporary Art hosted a unique "party" featuring Zhao Bandi, who has been passionate about this performance art lately. As an artist with a sky-high price for paintings, he has extended his artistic tentacles into advertising, performance, fashion, charity, and film in recent years, making him famous at the same time, but also bearing more questions that follow. This time, Zhao Bandi donated his recent work "P.A.D.Y." to UCCA.

Poke the video to see the event scene. Provided by UCCA

"A donkey in a tie" first hangs the audience's appetite

On the evening of May 18, 2019, half an hour before the party began, the flow of people had begun to pour into the Ullens Exhibition Hall. As early as before the "party" began, Zhao Bandi particularly emphasized that men must wear a tie to enter, so that the party has not yet begun, it has a mysterious color.

"International Museum Day, artist Zhao Bandi will donate strange works to UCCA," Ullens sent an invitation to members at all levels, which has satisfied the audience's appetite. On the same day, on the wall of the sunken space, the work was covered by a red velvet package, and the host Liu Fangfei presided over the donation ceremony. In the view of Tian Feiyu, director of the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art, in Zhao Bandi's artistic creation, no matter what kind of media creation, they have a wonderful relationship with society and reality, "This context is particularly interesting, in the different historical moments of the long creative career, Zhao Bandi convincingly explores how art is related to social reality, stimulates new thinking, and leaves unique traces."

At 20:30, Director Tian Feiyu and Zhao Bandi pulled down the red curtain together, and "a donkey with a tie" came to the face! Because of the "echo" with the guests wearing ties in the audience, the crowd burst into laughter and applause after sudden realization. "I'm sure it's a donkey." Zhao Bandi said on the spot.

Zhao Bandi's "Donkey Series" has been extended again

Zhao Bandi did not explain the meaning of the title of the work, "P.A.D.Y.", but this huge photography work, the eyes of the donkey, and the panda pattern on the tie are all imaginative.

The "Panda Era" was a glorious period for Zhao Handi's creations, and now he has turned to donkeys: during last year's Basel Fair, he staged "Donkey Ballet" in Switzerland, and then led the donkey to the stage again at the Chao Art Center in Sanlitun, Beijing. As art critics put it: "Zhao Bandi is a cunning artist who is good at using humorous and ironic tones to outline the fleeting social landscape, keenly capturing a certain sense of absurdity and reshaping the current situation." At the scene of the evening, the audience's discussion of "P.A.D.Y." was also endless, some viewers said that it was talking about 996 white-collar workers, seemingly decent but running around; others said that artists were breaking the disguise of elite men.

"Just as there will be a thousand Hamlets with a thousand readers, a thousand viewers will also see a thousand different "P.A.D, Y.", Zhao Bandi told the Beijing News reporter, he hopes that this work will be in the UCCA Ullens Center for Contemporary Art, a place that brings rich art exhibitions to more than one million viewers every year, bringing more people deep thinking and impact.

Beijing News reporter Liu Zhen Editor Tian Weini Proofreader Zhai Yongjun