The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 19, 2025

Two similar images side by side of a man with a medium-light skin tone standing against a blue background. In both photos, he has an animal's rib cage draped over himself. In the image on the left, he is wearing one side of an animal's rib cage. In the image on the right, he is covered with characters written in black ink and is wearing two halves of an animal's rib cage.

1/2 Series

1998

Zhang Huan

(Chinese, b. 1965)
China, 20th century
chromogenic print
Paper: 119.4 x 104.1 cm (47 x 41 in.)
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 2012.100
© Zhang Huan
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

The artist used his own body for this “concept photo,” a performance done for the camera without an audience.

Description

This work was inspired by the market in Beijing where Zhang Huan ate breakfast every morning. “I could see rows and rows of ribs on sale at different stalls. When I saw the ribs, I saw myself. Half of a person is his body and the other half is his soul.” The human body is meat, but so much more.
  • Michael Mattis and Judith Hochberg, Scarsdale, NY
    December 3, 2012
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Cleveland Museum of Art. The CMA Companion: A Guide to the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2014. Mentioned and reproduced: P. 318
  • Refocusing Photography: China at the Millenium. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 8-November 16, 2025).
  • {{cite web|title=1/2 Series|url=false|author=Zhang Huan|year=1998|access-date=19 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2012.100