Artist creates mind-healing 'desert island'

After touring 10 cities in China over the past three years, Zhao Bandi's performance art piece, Nestlet, arrived in Moscow in late December.

Displayed at the Center for Contemporary Art No 9, it comprises a bamboo hut, a hammock and an area covered by bamboo leaves with a picnic blanket on it, creating a nest-like space to "heal people's minds".

"Art has no boundaries. I hope people can share their joys and sorrows in this little nest from China when the whole world is not that good. It's a healing nest," says the 58-year-old artist.

Zhao held banquets in the space during previous shows, inviting his friends and visitors to dance, sing and chat. Visitors could even sleep inside the bamboo hut.

He created this healing sanctuary in 2020 and then exhibited it in 10 cities, including Shanghai, Wuhan in Hubei province, Nanjing in Jiangsu province, and Xiamen in Fujian province.

At parties during the shows, people from different walks of life and of various nationalities shared their stories, emotions and thoughts with one another.

Zhao recalls when it was shown in Wuhan, a group of young African students talked, sang and danced, making him feel like he was attending the celebration of a festival in Africa.

People's enjoyment of Nestlet has surprised and moved Zhao.

"When I put the bamboo hut into a modern art museum in Shanghai in 2020, I wasn't sure whether people would like to walk into it," says Zhao.

But it has appealed to many. When the piece was first presented at the HOW Art Museum in Shanghai in 2020, a book club asked for Zhao's approval to use it for their members to share their favorite books.

Last year, when it was exhibited in Zhengzhou, Henan province, a group of senior citizens from a local nursing home spent a happy afternoon chatting with the artist and other visitors.

"The nest has a magic power that lets people walk in, open their minds and talk about topics they would not speak about in the outside world," says Zhao.

He says he prefers to call the piece a form of performance art rather than an installation.

He explains it's a performance of healing, a form of art he has been making efforts to produce in recent years.

Zhao graduated from the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing and studied oil painting under Jin Shangyi, a master oil painter in China. He gained fame at home and abroad for his panda series.

In 2013, Zhao turned to a variety of art forms, including oil paintings, installations, videos and performance art.

"The piece is like Robinson Crusoe's desert island. It's an artistic space for people to get away from reality. I hope to chat with visitors in Moscow," says Zhao.

The show will run until Feb 17.