One Bridge, Zhang Yu, "The Section of Experimental Art at the 24th National Art Exhibition"

The artist has executed this project first in his own hometown in 2012, a naturally preservation area near the Qinglong river in the Ciman Nakhi village. He borrowed 27 square chairs from Ciman villagers, and with their help, constructed a simple wooden bridge, 4.2m in length without any nails or bolster frames. During the building process, the villagers, originally invited by the artists as submissive helpers who needed guidance, have turned into active, self-motivated participants. Everyone has cooperated with each other and they considered the completion of the bridge as a collective accomplishment. This bridge of wooden chairs unites the villagers and it has become a memorial of supportive friendship among them. The artist, therefore, achieved his original goal to rebuild a strong tie through sharing common values and feelings in the contemporary commercial society where people’s connections with others are fragile due to their base on economical benefits.

This work is impossible to move to the museum, as it looses the meaning. Therefore, the artist follows the same method, that he has collected chairs from local residents of the city where he currently lives in, and has invited them to help build a bridge in the museum. Although the process is similar, the meaning becomes different due to the change of the context. The urban habitats within the concrete boxes are isolated from others. No matter how close they live, they do not feel strong ties with their neighborhood and social relationships are very indifferent. Against this background, their collaborations of building such a bridge express their longing and needs for communications and interactions.