Dialogue (A)head: Zhang Dali’s construction of public space

The early 1980s mark the beginning of a still ongoing period during which Beijing has undergone radical structural transformations. These transformations are reflected by the work of numerous artists resident in the city. In this article I analyse four stages in the production of a series of graffiti-style interventions into the urban fabric of Beijing by one such artist, Zhang Dali – Dialogue (1995) and Demolition (1998). The use of public space, place and site form the connecting thread of this analysis. The tracing of this thread is intended to bring us closer to a comprehensive understanding of the ways in which such uses are made in artistic contexts. In a narrower sense I scrutinize to what extent Zhang’s site-specific interventions can be understood to make claims on space. I maintain that Zhang makes claims on space both by mimicking the processes of transformation that Beijing has undergone since the early 1980s, and by projecting to a wider audience the effects that these processes have had on him and others as subjects.