Shache Scenes

Date: December 2 – 16, 2016.
Venue: Studio 5, Shanghai.
Artist: Zhang Yi

“I was born in Shache County, also known as Yarkand, which over two-thousand years ago was a seat of the Han Dynasty and a stop on the southern Silk Road. It was a gift from heaven to be born in such a place. When I was growing up I liked to peruse local histories, seeking to understand everything I could about the area. I guess this is part of what it means to have a sense of home. Creating drawings of everyday life in this place is just an extension of this sentiment.

Even though my current life is in Shanghai my hometown remains close to me, like a favorite old shirt worn under new clothes. Now and then I get word of the demolition of Shache’s old city and new high-rise construction. These changes are affecting people’s ways of living; but they won’t change my memories of my hometown.”
— Zhang Yi