Zhang Wei: Empire of the Exquisite Corpse

My work has always explored the dissolution of individual identity.

Introduction

Early in the twentieth century the Parisian Surrealists in André Breton’s circle invented a game. A piece of paper is folded in such a way that only one section is visible at any time. The players, in turn, draw on the surface that is uppermost – often in order: head, body, legs, feet. No-one can see what was drawn previously, all they have are the points at which the previous drawing ended. When opened out, the paper reveals a bizarre hybrid that, the Surrealists hoped, would open up new imaginative possibilities by freeing them from the rational, from the rules of material reality. Dreamlike or nightmarish, the mismatched images suggested a fictional world into which one must immerse completely if it is to be believed. They called the game Exquisite Corpse (cadavre exquis in French).

The Chinese photo-artist Zhang Wei pieces together photographic fragments to create images incongruent with their source material. He does not do this blind, but the undertow of his work shares certain qualities with the Surrealists’ Exquisite Corpse. It suggests the way in which false narratives require a discontinuity with what has gone before: a revision of history, a redefinition of words and how they are used. A visual and spoken language that encourages amnesia while making conformity seem natural, inevitable. The engine that drives this pseudo-reality is an asymmetry of power. The power of the few to reshape the perceived reality of the many. Be it commercial or ideological, such power fragments the continuities of cultural and societal connection, reforming them to serve quite other ends. The icons that beckon to this brave new world are as lifeless as they are seductive.

In English, Exquisite Corpse is often called Consequences. The finished picture being the consequence of several individuals acting in isolation. If they could see what went before, the result would have coherence, would make sense. Instead, they work together to create an absurdity, just as confusion between the simulated and the real, between marketing hype and rational critique, between the ideology of the powerful and the needs of the community can lead individuals to act against their own best interests in the belief that it is simply the way of the world. The darkness that runs beneath the surface of Zhang Wei’s images is the free-fall of disconnection, the spectre of the abyss. As Voltaire declared some three centuries ago: “Those who can make you believe absurdities; can make you commit atrocities.”

Alasdair Foster

Interview

You began your career as a painter. What drew you to photography as your preferred medium of expression?

I initially chose painting because I felt it would allow me to explore my inner world freely. However, Chinese society was changing rapidly and, for me, painting could no longer fully capture these complex social phenomena. I began experimenting with photography to record this ever-changing reality. I started with straight photographs but quickly realised that this could only captured fragments. It could not convey my deeper sense of social confusion… And so I turned to digital collage, using reconstruction and reorganisation of images to deconstruct the contemporary world and explore the tension I perceived between fiction and reality.

Perhaps we can begin by talking about ‘Portrait of the Dead’. In this series, you appear as the corpse of a number of different types of worker, their lifelessness amplified by the digital elongation of your body on the slab.

This series stems from my concern for marginalised groups. The work was inspired by Hans Holbein’s ‘The Body of the Dead Christ in the Tomb’, an image that I developed as a metaphor for those struggling at the margins of society. Like Christ in the painting, they face the crushing weight of inescapable history, silently ground down – ignored, yet essential.

With China’s recent rapid development, social structures have become increasingly complex, and the fate of many individuals overlooked or suppressed in the process. This oppression is not just a thing of the past; it continues to exist in today’s society. By exploring the tension between fiction and reality, I want to highlight the lives of those individuals obscured behind the facade of economic prosperity. Their stories are essential to understanding the true face of our society.

‘Temporary Performers’ is an extensive series grouped into four sections. Who or what are these people?

Temporary performers are film and TV extras hired by the day. But I believe they represent more than just ‘extras’ – they embody the ordinary people in modern Chinese society. Amid this rapid change, many people must constantly move between different functions; temporary roles that can be replaced at any time. Their identities are provisional, yet they reflect a certain universality within the structure of our society.

Did you manipulate these images – I noticed how the eyes are swollen as if they have been crying?

Yes, I digitally manipulated the images, particularly in terms of facial expressions. The swollen eyes were intended to convey suppressed emotions. During the shoot, the actors always tried to present a sunny appearance but, for me, this facade felt false. A straight photograph couldn’t capture the reality as I saw it. So, I used digital post-production to swap facial features, creating a sense of distortion that I feel comes closer to the reality. That said, even this distortion is insufficient to reflect the harshness of the reality, which is more intense and surreal than these images can capture.

What is that reality?

It’s the instability of identity. It’s temporariness. This never-ending change finally renders them meaningless. I wanted to suggest the sense of futility and emptiness that people feel as they constantly adapt themselves to this turbulent social and economic environment, unable to find in it any stable sense of belonging.

[Left] © Zhang Wei ‘Artificial Theatre – Big Star / Marilyn Monroe’ 2011
[Right] © Zhang Wei ‘Artificial Theatre – Big Star / John Lennon’ 2014

The series ‘Artificial Theatre’ is another extensive series of portraits, this time more immediately ‘recognisable’. How did it begin?

The inspiration largely comes from my childhood memories. My mother was a traditional opera performer and, when I was young, I lived in the residential compound of the theatre troupe. This was during the period of reform when China was opening up. Western culture was pouring in, causing significant changes in the theatre’s programming. Traditional opera began to be mixed with mismatched Western elements, leading to absurd and chaotic performances. This confused ‘knockoff’ culture started me thinking about the falsity of contemporary identity and the disconnection between the various roles we are required to play.

Those childhood memories had a profound influence on the creation of this work.

[Left] © Zhang Wei ‘Artificial Theatre – Big Star / Leonardo DiCaprio’ 2013
[Right] © Zhang Wei ‘Artificial Theatre – Big Star / Audrey Hepburn’ 2013

At first sight, these seem to be portraits of famous people, yet something is not quite right… How were they created?

I used digital collage to combine the facial features of many ordinary Chinese people into exaggerated virtual ‘portraits’ of Western iconic figures. That proved quite a challenge. The facial features of Eastern and Western people differ greatly: a Westerner has a higher bridge to their nose, deeper eye sockets, more prominent cheekbones. When using Chinese features to represent these three-dimensional aspects, the result often looks stiff and unnatural.

How did you solve this?

I tried using lighting to simulate depth. For example, I used top lighting to deepen the eye sockets or adjusted the shadows to emphasise the bridge of the nose. Eventually, the collaged faces began to resemble Western facial features a little more closely.

But, despite many adjustments, these portraits still retain some Eastern facial essence, giving these works an ambiguity that defies easy categorisation.

[Left] © Zhang Wei ‘Artificial Theatre – Hero / Steve Jobs’ 2015
[Right] © Zhang Wei ‘Artificial Theatre – Hero / Che Guevara’ 2014

Where did you acquire the library of faces from which you ‘harvested’ the elements used in these portraits?

Most of the facial elements come from portrait photos I took of ordinary people in Beijing. Some were hired models; others were my friends and family. Almost everyone I knew or had access to was included. Over time, I built a large archive to draw upon.

What ideas did you seek to express through this work?

These are pictures of revered Western ‘authorities’ and ‘idols’ pieced together from the facial features of ordinary Chinese people. There is of course a deep irony in this through which I aim to challenge traditional views of authority. In the disconnect between their glamorous appearance and their true identity, I want to represent the absurdity and inauthenticity of individuals shaped by the machinery of social publicity.

At the same time, I want to reveal the process of the individual being dissolved within the collective. These seemingly powerful figures are constructed from the features of ordinary individuals. Small and powerless as those individuals may appear within the vast social structure, I hope to show that even public icons and authority figures cannot escape their foundation built from ordinary people. In this way, I am attempting to reveal the falseness behind contemporary identity and reveal how societies manipulate and repurpose the image of public figures.

[Left] © Zhang Wei ‘Artificial Theatre – The Leader / Vladimir Ilyich Lenin’ 2014
[Right] © Zhang Wei ‘Artificial Theatre – The Leader / Abraham Lincoln’ 2014

This work has been shown widely over the past few years. At the same time, the relationship between China and the West has shifted. Has this impacted on the way audiences view the work?

Reactions to these portraits have indeed changed – but in different ways. In China, audiences focus more on the way these works reflect social and class issues, especially in their depiction of the suppression and reshaping of ordinary people’s identities. Such discussions are often set within the context of rapid socio-economic development, in which individuals struggle within the larger environment.

How about in the West?

While Chinese audiences focus on the domestic realities, Western audiences tend to view the works through the lens of globalisation and cultural conflict. They often interpret these collaged images of public figures and politicians as metaphors for power and cultural hegemony.

Your most recent work is called ‘Puppet Archive’. How did this begin?

It’s a continuation of my previous works. But, this time, I wanted these fictional characters to be set within pseudo-historical scenes; to question whether history is truly real or merely a constructed narrative. To reveal its malleability.

Through the metaphor of puppets, I wanted to suggest the way power controls and, at the same time, the passive self-regulation of disempowered individuals. The figures in these ‘documentary’ scenes appear to have autonomy, but in reality, they are being manipulated: powerless in the face of pseudo-historical narratives and absolute authority.

How were these images were created? They have the look and feel of AI.

Although these images may appear to be AI-generated, they were actually entirely created by using materials I photographed and pieced together digitally. I’ve been using this method since 2007, starting with relatively simple collages, which have gradually developed into today’s more complex compositions. Over the years, I have continued to accumulate source imagery by photographing the facial features of many ordinary people and elements from various environments.

Although my method may seem clumsy, for me the process is a unique experience.

While AI generates imagery at high speed, it neglects the most important aspects of creation – interacting with the images and reflecting upon them repeatedly. My way of working allows me to establish a deep connection with the work. This is important because I believe that the meaning of the work lies not only in the final result but also in the process of bringing it to life.

Why did you develop these narratives in this way?

I wanted to evoke a pseudo-historical atmosphere, as though these are documentary images from a forgotten past, but under this they carry a deliberate sense of absurdity and falseness. In this image [above] six factory women are ‘re-educating’ a recently refurbished robot through a process of thought modification. The robot will then be placed into an artificial environment that appears natural but, in reality, it is carefully designed to simulate an ‘ideal’ state where the robot plays the role assigned to it, completely controlled by external forces. In this work I wanted to express how individuals, under the influence of powerful external forces, are reshaped like puppets, gradually losing their sense of self and becoming obedient to an artificially pre-set social system.

I was interested by the ‘type-written’ archive labels and their Newspeak phraseology.

This is a satire of modern information control. While the labels seem formal and authoritative they actually disguise a distorted narrative. For example, in the image of the decommissioning of a warrior robot a group of technicians and their leader appear to pay tribute to a ‘hero’ that has supposedly sacrificed itself for the greater good of the system. The entire image adopts the tone of politically manufactured ‘news’. In reality, the robot may simply be an ordinary machine due for decommissioning having performed no actual acts of heroism, the so-called ‘sacrifice’ merely part of a piece of staged propaganda. This fake documentary reflects the frightening way in which imagery can be manipulated by those in power, using the apparent ‘truthfulness’ of photography to serve a misleading narrative with the aim of encouraging more people to abandon their sense of self and serve the system of power. In this way, I want to reveal the fiction behind propagandist ‘information’ and pseudo-historical narratives: the contradictory absurdities that exist within them.

Although this is a kind of science fiction, the aesthetic is early mid-century noire – almost steampunk. Why did you choose this style for your puppet images?

I wanted to visually intertwine the past and the future, to set up a tension that feels both familiar and unfamiliar. By combining the weight of history with the uncertainty of the future I aim to intensify the conflict between fiction and reality.

Looking across these series, there seems to be an underlying concern with the way the powerful seek to erase each individual’s sense of personal identity…

My work has always explored the dissolution of individual identity. The evolution of these works has reflected my deepening exploration of the concept of depersonalisation: from the fleeting identity of the dead to the transient roles of extras, to the collaged public figures, and finally to pre-digital-era robots in a faux historical setting: contexts in which individual identity is systematically dismantled, fictionalised, and manipulated.

In making the bodies of work discussed here, what have you learned about yourself that you did not previously know?

I have come to realise that my understanding of the world is constantly evolving. Each creation is a form of self-exploration. My curiosity about the world has become the biggest driving force behind my work. Yet the deeper I try to understand, the more I realise there are further uncertainties. Although this often leaves me feeling confused, I believe that this confusion is an important part of the creative process. It urges me forward, constantly questioning, while accepting that my doubts may never be fully answered.

Biographical Notes

Zhang Wei was born in Shangluo, Shaanxi Province, China, in 1977. In 2002, he studied photography at Beijing Film Academy. His work has featured in eleven solo and two-person exhibitions, and in one hundred and thirty group presentations across China and in Australia, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Republic of Korea, Russia, Switzerland, Thailand, Türkiye, and the USA. In 2012, he was included in the Top 20 Chinese Contemporary Photography Emerging Talents by the China Photographers Association and the Zhejiang Federation of Literary and Art Circles; in 2013 he received the Xitek China Emerging Photographer of the Year Award and, in 2020, he won best photographer at the Eighth Jinan International Photography Biennale. His images are held in a number of prestigious public and private collections including (in China) Chengdu Contemporary Image Museum, Guangdong Museum of Art, GuCang Centre of Contemporary Photography (Lanzhou), Shanghai Centre of Photography, and Lishui Photography Museum. Overseas, his work is held the collection of the Museum of Contemporary Photography, Chicago. Zhang Wei currently lives and works in Beijing and New York.

This interview is a Talking Pictures original.

Introduction

Interview

Biographical Notes

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