This 2001 sculpture entitled "Pilgrimage" depicts the sculptor himself.
The accompanying plaque explains:
"Zhang Huan
Chinese, born 1965 in Anyang City, henan Province, China, lives
and works in Shanghai and New York
Pilgrimage
2001
Tianqing stone
Denver Art Museum: Gift of Vicki and Kent Logan, 2003.918
This sculpture depicts a 1998 perfomance event at the
P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center in Queens, New York,
where Zhang Huan lay naked, face-down on a block of
ice for almost 10 minutes. The work, Zhang Huan says,
is about his experience coming to America and his fear
of New York City: "I want to feel the city with my body,
just as I feel the ice." Zhang says he undergoes feats
of extreme endurance because he wants "to experience
the relationship between the physical body and the
spiritual body."
The artist wishes to acknowledge Cheryl Riley, Christophe Mao, and
John Tancock."
This website (
visit link) has a brief interview with the artist-- and also a photo of the sculpture which indicates that it is supposed to be viewed with water covering part of the body.
Another website (
visit link) shows a similar piece called "Pilgrimage--Wind and Water in New York" by the artist which depicts the artist on ice.