Artist creates mind-healing 'desert island'

"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.