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Lot Essay
“ Medicine is a risky mix. The relationship between the toxicity and the medicinal qualities is sometimes contradictory, sometimes collective. They exert mutual promotion and restraint on each other, nothing collapses.”
Creatively interpreting ancient wisdom while fusing art and medicine, Six Flavour Rehmanni is a comprehensive medical manual in the format of a twelve-leaf, traditionally bound album of painting and calligraphy. Beginning by outlining the herbal concoction itself, Zhang Yanzi elegantly illustrates the herbal ingredients in their floral forms over eight leaves, complemented by descriptions from historical medical literature. The album then ends with the recipe for preparing the medicine and the dosage. The album’s leaves are delicately stained with the resultant recipe, and perforated in an echo of traditional analgesic patches commonly used in China. Leafing through the album offers a multi-sensory experience for the contemporary viewer.
Since Zhang Yanzi’s Remedy series came into being in 2013, her art and medicine have been closely intertwined: western medical pills, syringes, Chinese herbal medicine, and gauze bandages are all muses and inspirations. Six Flavour Rehmanni is a prescription from traditional Chinese medicine: one that, according to ancient texts, strengthens the function of the kidney. Now available as processed pills, it is a commonly used medicine, not only to heal but also to nourish. The original prescription was written by Qian Yi, a medical doctor from the Song imperial court. As its name suggests, this medical concoction consists of six major herbal ingredients:
Herb, Function
Chinese foxglove root - Clears heat, cools blood, nourishes kidney yin and promotes body fluids production
Japanese cornel fruit - Nourishes the liver and kidney, restrains the leakage of the essence
Chinese yam - Replenishes vital energy (qi), enriches yin, reinforces spleen, lungs and kidneys, and stops excessive essence depletion
Water plantain - Promotes urination, drains dampness, purges heat
Tuckahoe mushroom - Drains dampness from the spleen
Tree peony bark - Clears heat and promotes blood circulation to dissipate stasis
Medicine often conjures images of rigid adherence to age-old prescriptions. However, within this thousand-year old scientific framework, Zhang’s flowers and herbs are fresh, colourful, and in bloom – something perhaps unexpected in a contemporary conception of Chinese herbal medicine. The stark contrast between the beautifully painted flowers and the dark and sombre pills that we use today provides a point of reflection: in an industrialised world removed from nature, the plants that make up the medicine have become unrecognisable to us. Through her fine brushwork, Zhang reinvigorates life through nature and its healing power.
Born in 1967 in Zhenjiang, Jiangsu province, Zhang Yanzi studied at the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing and received a Master of Fine Art in traditional ink painting in 2007. Her fascination with medicine and the medical sciences began at an early age. Influenced by her veterinarian father, Zhang was exposed to medical paraphernalia and the notion of healing at an early age. Later, medical tools became a theme in her work. In 2018, Zhang Yanzi will present two solo shows in the UK: at the Surgeons’ Hall Museums and the Museum of East Asian Art. Zhang currently lives and works in Beijing.
Creatively interpreting ancient wisdom while fusing art and medicine, Six Flavour Rehmanni is a comprehensive medical manual in the format of a twelve-leaf, traditionally bound album of painting and calligraphy. Beginning by outlining the herbal concoction itself, Zhang Yanzi elegantly illustrates the herbal ingredients in their floral forms over eight leaves, complemented by descriptions from historical medical literature. The album then ends with the recipe for preparing the medicine and the dosage. The album’s leaves are delicately stained with the resultant recipe, and perforated in an echo of traditional analgesic patches commonly used in China. Leafing through the album offers a multi-sensory experience for the contemporary viewer.
Since Zhang Yanzi’s Remedy series came into being in 2013, her art and medicine have been closely intertwined: western medical pills, syringes, Chinese herbal medicine, and gauze bandages are all muses and inspirations. Six Flavour Rehmanni is a prescription from traditional Chinese medicine: one that, according to ancient texts, strengthens the function of the kidney. Now available as processed pills, it is a commonly used medicine, not only to heal but also to nourish. The original prescription was written by Qian Yi, a medical doctor from the Song imperial court. As its name suggests, this medical concoction consists of six major herbal ingredients:
Herb, Function
Chinese foxglove root - Clears heat, cools blood, nourishes kidney yin and promotes body fluids production
Japanese cornel fruit - Nourishes the liver and kidney, restrains the leakage of the essence
Chinese yam - Replenishes vital energy (qi), enriches yin, reinforces spleen, lungs and kidneys, and stops excessive essence depletion
Water plantain - Promotes urination, drains dampness, purges heat
Tuckahoe mushroom - Drains dampness from the spleen
Tree peony bark - Clears heat and promotes blood circulation to dissipate stasis
Medicine often conjures images of rigid adherence to age-old prescriptions. However, within this thousand-year old scientific framework, Zhang’s flowers and herbs are fresh, colourful, and in bloom – something perhaps unexpected in a contemporary conception of Chinese herbal medicine. The stark contrast between the beautifully painted flowers and the dark and sombre pills that we use today provides a point of reflection: in an industrialised world removed from nature, the plants that make up the medicine have become unrecognisable to us. Through her fine brushwork, Zhang reinvigorates life through nature and its healing power.
Born in 1967 in Zhenjiang, Jiangsu province, Zhang Yanzi studied at the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing and received a Master of Fine Art in traditional ink painting in 2007. Her fascination with medicine and the medical sciences began at an early age. Influenced by her veterinarian father, Zhang was exposed to medical paraphernalia and the notion of healing at an early age. Later, medical tools became a theme in her work. In 2018, Zhang Yanzi will present two solo shows in the UK: at the Surgeons’ Hall Museums and the Museum of East Asian Art. Zhang currently lives and works in Beijing.