In this early performance, Lin Yilin moves a temporary wall brick by brick across a busy road in Guangzhou. In doing so, he forces pedestrians and drivers to move around him, highlighting an individual’s labour against the backdrop of urban development. This work is a key example of the artist’s practice of integrating performance art and video.
Mapping Chinese Art, 1972–2012: Selections for the M+ Sigg Collection. M+, Hong Kong, 2019. sigg.mplus.org.hk
Lin Yilin (born 1964, Guangzhou) studied sculpture at the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts and graduated in 1987. A co-founder of the Big Tail Elephant Group in 1990, Lin is best known for his performance and installation work that defines the changing lives and identities of the individual in recent history. Lin lives and works in New York and Beijing.