Spread Series: B-056

The Spread series saw artist Xu Zhen incorporate a variety of materials based on comics and cartoons from all over the world, using fabric collage as the main means of execution for his work. This work presents to viewers a world of chaos, just like our contemporary society today with the overload of information as well as the rapid development of globalization. Through using the visual elements of comics - a medium which is familiar to all, Xu not only brings viewers closer to his work with the commonplace object, but also seeks to evoke feelings of curiosity and absurdity from his viewers. Xu uses a comical and humorous manner to insinuate the political and social conflicts and brutality in society today. At the same time, this is also a way in which he attempts to explore the aesthetic judgment in the world of art. His method of constructing his work echoes that of English collage artist Richard Hamilton's most famous work, Just What Is It That Makes Today's Home So Different, So Appealing?. Hamilton's work displays a similar concept, incorporating and collaging a diverse range of materials from mass media to create an image of the modern family, to criticize and question pop culture of society at the time.

As the CEO of Madein Company, which was founded in 2009, Xu turns his artistic creations to be products of his own company. This seemingly leisurely act of Xu represents the identity politics of his rebellion within the contemporary art system. This was criticized as "the artist's rejection towards 'monopoly', reflecting his focus on collective creation and the projection of collective ideas". In his Spread series, the large fabric collage refracts a macro perspective of the weak and undermined individual, of being in a chaotic and tumultuous environment.