Zhang Peili

Zhang Peili

Actor’s Line and Last Words

16 March–23 April 200516 Mar–23 Apr 2005

Chinese video artist Zhang Peili subverts images of authority. Actor’s Line uses footage from the 1964 movie Sentry Under Neon Lights, where two men meet on a bridge to discuss political ideology. Re-edited by Peili, their body language and proximity suggest a relationship that is ‘more than ideological’. In Last Words, a dying hero’s final moments are repeated to emphasise the artificiality of death in a romantic revolutionary style.

The Institute of Modern Art acknowledges the traditional custodians of the land upon which the IMA now stands, the Jagera, Yuggera, Yugarapul, and Turrbal people. We offer our respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as the first artists of this country. In the spirit of allyship, the IMA will continue to work with First Nations people to celebrate, support, and present their immense past, present, and future contribution to artistic practice and cultural expression.

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