ICA and K11 Art Foundation present Zhang Ding: Enter the Dragon

Exhibition Preview: Monday 12 October from 7pm, with DJ sets from Bell Towers, Pandora’s Jukebox and Trevor Jackson.

Music programmed by Zhang Ding in association with NTS Radio.

The installation directly references the final scene from the seminal Bruce Lee film Enter the Dragon (1973). Considered to be one of the greatest Chinese martial arts films of all time, it was the first to have been produced by a major Hollywood studio under the guidance of Lee, whose contribution to the production of the film and script was extensive. Lee identified the film as a vehicle to illustrate his understanding of Eastern philosophies to Western audiences. It proved to be his final film appearance before his premature death. The performances, as part of the project, aim to be co-operative, improvisational, experimental and self-reflective rather than competitive, seeking to reflect the philosophies that Bruce Lee sought to express in the film.

Zhang Ding transforms the ICA Theatre into a ‘mutating sound sculpture’, covering the room with reflective surfaces, suspended sound panels and a series of rotating mirrored sculptures situated next to two music stages. For the duration of the exhibition, there are a series of daily performances, consisting of invited artists and open submissions from a variety of musical genres selected by Zhang Ding in association with NTS Radio. The performances seeks to activate the installation to create a platform for co-operative improvisation, experimentation and self-reflection.

Zhang Ding was born in 1980 in Gansu, China. He resides and works in Shanghai. Zhang Ding's practice is mainly presented through his solo projects, which includes video, installations, paintings and live performance,etc. His works play on ideas of sensory perception and will, constructing absurd scenes full of contrast, often creating metaphors layered with societal references. That may be seen as a series of deconstructed mise en scenes, or as an environmental sculpture of twisting and merging emotional atomsphere. Recent exhibitions include: Zhang Ding: Orbit of Rock, ShanghART, Beijing, China (2014); Orbit: Zhang Ding Solo Project, The Armory Show, Focus Section, New York, U.S.A. (2014); Gold & Silver, Zhang Ding Solo Exhibition, Galerie Krinzinger, Wien, Austria (2013); Meanwhile… Suddenly, and Then, the Biennale of Lyon, Lyon, France (2013); Perspectives 180 - Unfinished Country: New Video from China, The Contemporary Art Museum in Houston, USA (2012).

Please be aware that each of the performances will contain strobe effect lighting which may affect those who are susceptible to photosensitive epilepsy. 

Please note that filming and photography will take place throughout this event and therefore by entering you are giving consent to be filmed or photographed.