This work consists of a six-meter-tall seated skeleton of a Buddha. The figure has a tailbone and is holding a one-meter-high stone figure of Zhang. The rib cage of the Buddha is made of pear tree, which Zhang had found in Shandong, and together with local farmers, he'd cut and dried the wood to be used for the sculpture. The whole process took over nine months. The premise for this work is the traditional faith in the Big Buddha - people visit temples to pray and make wishes in front of Buddha sculptures. Here, Zhang is questioning this deep-seated faith - is the Big Buddha still helping people? Of equal significance is the choice of materials. For the body of himself, Zhang chose stone, which is a dead material. For the skeleton of Buddha, Zhang has chosen a living material, a tree.
- Materials
- Mixed media
- Size
- 232 1/2 × 157 3/5 × 118 1/5 in | 590.6 × 400.3 × 300.2 cm
- Medium
Big Buddha, 2002
This work consists of a six-meter-tall seated skeleton of a Buddha. The figure has a tailbone and is holding a one-meter-high stone figure of Zhang. The rib cage of the Buddha is made of pear tree, which Zhang had found in Shandong, and together with local farmers, he'd cut and dried the wood to be used for the sculpture. The whole process took over nine months. The premise for this work is the traditional faith in the Big Buddha - people visit temples to pray and make wishes in front of Buddha sculptures. Here, Zhang is questioning this deep-seated faith - is the Big Buddha still helping people? Of equal significance is the choice of materials. For the body of himself, Zhang chose stone, which is a dead material. For the skeleton of Buddha, Zhang has chosen a living material, a tree.
- Materials
- Mixed media
- Size
- 232 1/2 × 157 3/5 × 118 1/5 in | 590.6 × 400.3 × 300.2 cm
- Medium

