Born in 1982 in Xinjiang, China, Zhao Zhao is now regarded a significant figure among the young Post-80s generation of contemporary Chinese artists. His work is often associated with anti-authoritarian or non-conformist tendencies, renowned for confronting existing ideological structures and exercising the power of individual free will. His provocative, multidisciplinary practice has garnered him international attention in recent years with critically-acclaimed exhibitions across China, North America and Europe as an 'artist to watch'.

A specially edited edition of ‘Project Taklamakan’ (2015-2016) by Chinese artist Zhao Zhao (b. 1982), a video work documenting his 2015 project in Xinjiang’s Taklamakan Desert. He and a thirty-strong team travelled 4,000 kilometers from Beijing with a 100-kilometer 4-corecable and a refrigerator. In order to pass strict inspection systems at the border of this remote region, Zhao Zhao played the roles of a contractor and an advertising director during these government inspections. After arriving in Tailun, Zhao Zhao and his team connected the electricity to a household in the Uighur community, then trailed the cable out toward the center of the desert. This journey took 23 days and used 10 transformers, in order to prevent any losses in power transmission. At the end of it, the 100-km-long cable successfully powered a double-door refrigerator full of Sinkiang (Xinjiang) Beer for 24 hours in one of the world’s most expansive, uninhabited deserts. Through interacting with the Uighur family, sourcing funding for the project and passing the strict government inspections as part of the project, Zhao Zhao found multiple ways to actively participate and intervene in society.