Zhao Bandi is widely known for his multidisciplinary work featuring a panda motif. He has staged many irreverent and humorous performances with a stuffed panda that deal with pertinent social issues.
In Bandi’s 2008, Zhao and the toy panda make an epic journey satirising Beijing’s successful bid to host the 2008 Olympic Games. We first see Zhao emerging from a Beijing hutong wearing a black athletic unitard. The panda rides on his shoulders, and he holds a plastic Olympic torch high above his head. With the earnestness of a promotional video, Zhao traverses Beijing’s landmarks to Olympic-themed ballads, maintaining an energetic trot on the subway, at the market, and through one of the city’s legendary smoggy traffic jams. Eventually he arrives in Bern, Switzerland, where his panda-themed spectacle is met by cheering crowds and an ‘opening ceremony’ in a stadium. Despite the lighthearted character of the video, the impeccable care and enthusiasm with which Zhao orchestrated the details of his ‘panda Olympics’ put the 2008 Olympic phenomenon in critical perspective.