Artificial Rock No. 59, Zhan used Stainless steel to create the shiny surface of the rock. Zhan’s artificial rocks are made by hammering sheets of stainless steel onto the surface of a Jiashanshi or Scholar rock. Small pieces are pounded, removed, and then welded together, in an extremely laborious process of craftsmanship, forming a production course sustained by personal expression that seamlessly combines technique and concept. The artist has chosen stainless steel to reflect the colours of the surrounding environment. Its reflective surface are dynamic and in flux, unlimited in scope and variation to create a visual spectacle befitting the post-modern era. Its foremost characteristic is its ability to disappear in an environment, self-effacing and hovering between absence and presence. A scholar’s rock disappears in nature by means of its natural form, whereas the stainless steel mirror-surface does so by reflecting its environment.
