Yang Zhichao

Yang Zhichao (; born 1963) is a multi-disciplinary artist who is known for his agonizingly painful performance pieces. 
Biography.
Yang was born in Gansu Province, China in 1963. He graduated from the Art Department of Northwest Normal University in 1987. When he moved from rural Gansu to Beijing in 1998, he became aware of globalisation and the power it exerts over the body. Compared to rural Gansu where the body was a tool required for labour, in Beijing the body could be seen as hard-drive embellished with the products of industry. In this new environment, Yang's artistic practice began to take form. In his performance works, the artist used his body to raise social issues and how, in an age of science and technology, our bodies no longer belong to ourselves but to society and the state. His performances often involve painful acts such as surgical procedures without the use of anaesthetic. His later works still explore the same themes, but he has pulled away from his self-imposed suffering.
He has exhibited in art spaces in China and around the world. including the famous " 不合作方式 Fuck Off" show at the Eastlink Gallery, Shanghai in 2000, the Guangdong Museum of Art, Guangzhou, 2003, the Dadao Live Art Festival, Beijing, 2004, and China Live tour of eight major institutions in the UK organised by Beijing-based curator Shu Yang in 2005.
External links.
Profiles.
Yang Zhichao has profiles on Asia Art Archive; CFCCA Archive & Library; artsnet; artsy; Ocula; Li Space; Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK)