Zhang Huan: Miami Buddha
For 'The Last Supper' at Miami's Faena Festival, Zhang Huan presents 'Miami Buddha' on the city's iconic South Beach.
Chinese artist Zhang Huan takes over part of Miami's iconic South Beach during Miami Art Week and the Faena Festival. Titled 'Miami Buddha', the works feature two Buddhas sitting face to face; one crafted from an aluminium mould, and the other constructed from incense ash collected from temples around China. While the aluminium Buddha glistens in the sun and moonlight, the other, exposed to the elements, crumbles and disintegrates. The destruction symbolising the impermanence of life, the cyclicality of destruction and renewal, and the reincarnation of death and rebirth.
Buddhas are a prominent theme in many of Huan's works with his earliest sculptures taking the form of giant copper hands, feet and other magnified versions inspired by fragments of Buddhist figures discovered in Tibet. Installations including 'Long Ear Ash Head' (2007) and 'Sydney Buddha' (2015) to name a few have all incorporated incense ash collected from Buddhist temples not only representing the cycle of life but providing an intimate connection to Buddhism, the ash imbued with the prayers of worshippers.
