NARRATOR:

Wrestling: One and One Hundred comprises photo documentation of a performance created by He Yunchang. The work was photographed in 2001, and the photos were printed in 2004. The overall presentation measures 125.8 centimetres high, and 742.8 centimetres wide.

A hundred monochromatic photos of brown-grey tone are aligned in a grid of five rows and twenty columns. All are landscape-format shots taken from middle-distance that capture the artist engaged in a wrestling bout with other people. The full bodies of the performers and the surrounding environment can be seen. The wrestling site depicted in each photograph is at the corner of a large open space that’s covered with sand and surrounded by short buildings. Next to the sandy ground is a long spectator stand made of stone, on and around which some people sit and stand to watch the bout. A few people are taking pictures with a camera. There’s also a queue of more than forty men at the rear of the sandy ground who seem to be waiting in line for a wrestle. All of them look attentively at the one-on-one wrestling match between the artist and his opponents.

As depicted in the photos, the artist is of medium stature and bald. He’s shirtless and wears dark jeans and leather shoes. His opponents are of similar stature and wear similar clothing but with shirts on. All photos capture the artist wrestling with an opponent on the bare ground. In most photos, he appears to be losing. Consider five of the photos as examples:

In the first photo, the opponent is in a reclining position and the artist kneels at his side on one knee, shifting his weight onto the opponent’s torso and wrapping his arms around the opponent’s neck. His biceps can be seen bulging prominently.

In the second photo, the artist stands with his back to his opponent, bending his right knee and dropping down the torso. His left arm stretches backwards and slides under the opponent's armpits to clutch the neck. The opponent has one leg up in the air, as if he’s about to be slammed to the ground.

In the third photo, the artist sits on the ground and the opponent bends forwards with his head on the artist’s thigh and a leg kicking up. Sand is flung up into the air. The artist seems to be locking his arms around the opponent’s chest with great strength, as the veins on his neck can be seen bulging.

In the fourth photo, the opponent bends his knees and leans backwards. He holds the artist’s torso with one hand and grabs the back of his knees with the other, lifting the artist in the air. It’s clear that the artist is about to be flung to the ground.

In the fifth photo, the artist looks as if he had just been thrown down. He’s lying on his back on the ground with hands pressing against the ground and legs in the air. His face is scrunched up and appears to be in pain. The leather shoes on his feet are missing, and the opponent is not seen in the image.

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