Zhao Bandi: Pandaman

This book caught my attention as I was walking down the Photography isle in our university library (very rare sight). The cover was a close-up shot of Zhao Bandi holding his stuffed panda; 'I need to know about what's going on in this picture' I thought to myself and picked up the book. I discovered about this crazy talent named Zhao Bandi who is something of a celebrity in his native Beijing. His celebrity stature came from his inspiring photographs with his stuffed panda that is well known by public service information and government propaganda. Zhao created this Pandaman as a persona and his panda became a spokesperson in his photographs, allowing the artist to tackle difficult issues and deliver challenging messages with a twist of humour. They have conversations, delivered with deadpan humour, on subjects such as war, terrorism, the environment and disease. His work was presented in many galleries and exhibitions and his work was tailored to their specific context; incorporating billboards, exhibitions and performance to create different range of work in each venue. Around 2003 Zhao was bought to UK to exhibit his works and was published at Manchester, Birmingham, Portsmouth and in Piccadilly Circus Underground station is a combination of images from a number of series of works made between 1996 and 2003. It is part of the largest public exhibition of Bandi's work outside of China.