The Chinese artist Zhang Huan is a kind of contemporary Fakir. His means of expression is the body and his preferred technique is performance art. Huan´s stoic attitude towards his body, which serves as his primary creative instrument, makes for thought provoking and dramatic performances. For him, the human body not only gives us proof of our identity, it also makes up its own language.

One of his most memorable performances took place in Beijing in 1994. He sat on a public toilet with inadequate sanitary conditions in one of the most humble areas of the of the city, and smeared his body with oil and honey. Within a few minutes, his body was covered with all kinds of insects, who were attracted by the sweet smell of food. Unperturbed, Huan carried on and unflinchingly endured the tingling physical and mental discomfort caused by the pests that swarmed around his body.

Like the fakirs, Huan has developed an ability to detach from his body and the limitations it imposes. Through the use of his body, and not without a certain degree of violence, the audience may connect with his art, empathically feeling his performances as if they were being inscribed in their own flesh. Via performance, he draws attention to cultural issues such as globalization, alienation and loss of spirituality in an increasingly Westernized culture. In 1999 he emigrated to the United States, and was faced with a pluralistic culture, which has been adapted – in a superficial way – all kinds of exotic lifestyles like yoga or tai chi … Huang often focuses on this dilution of ancestral culture, whose essential features more and more are trivialized as fads.

The Palazzo Reale in Milan takes a startling look at this Chinese artist during the show “Ashman,” which opens in July and will last until September 1st 2010. Do not miss this groundbreaking experience and rent apartments in Milan.