chen zhen: the body as landscape

 

‘as an artist, my dream is to become a doctor.
making art is all about looking at oneself,
examining oneself and somehow seeing the world.’
so said chen zhen, who died in 2000 from a rare
medical condition known as autoimmune hemolytic
anemia. at the age of 25 he began to suffer from
this anaemia and was given a prognosis of five
years. confused he spent three months living with
tibetan monks in a non-materialistic environment.
his experience in tibet strengthened him physically
and spiritually, providing him with inspiration,
energy, and insight into life that fed his creativity.
from early on it gave him a keen understanding and
analytic perspective on the value of time and space.