Since the ’85 New Space exhibition, Zhang Peili had established his style of creating distinctive, stern and lifeless images of art, which continued into his later years. Rigor, constraint and other elements of rationality became essential tones in Zhang Peili’s work. From 1986 to 1987, Zhang created a successive series of more than 20 works titled X? where medical rubber gloves became a recurring motif. Featuring either a single glove or in a pair, the works were presented in an array of forms, transforming Zhang’s apathetic sentiment into a complete vanish of sense of life.

Zhang Peili once stated that the choice of rubber gloves as a subject was out of an interest of the “meaningless” nature of the item itself. But for the spectators, these huge gloves containing the power of composure carry extraordinary meanings behind them: surgery, disease, isolation, safety… these connotations connect the artist, audience and the cultural environment in which they were bred in. They lead people to think about their own experiences in life, and also reflect from an artistic perspective. This concept continues to sustain its significance in Zhang’s later milestone work – the first video piece 30×30. In a way, X? Series is the herald to 30×30.

(Edited by Lijie Wang & Miao Zijin)