In the early 1990s, Zhang Huan became part of a small group of artists who established the ‘East Village’, an artists’ community on the eastern outskirts of Beijing that pushed the limits of artistic experimentation – and acceptance by Chinese authorities. In 12 square metres, Zhang Huan coated his naked body with fish oil and honey and sat in the dirtiest and smelliest public toilet in the East Village for 60 minutes during the heat of summer. Although swarms of flies covered his body, Zhang Huan sat motionless, like a Buddhist monk in such intense meditation that he was able to block out the sensations afflicting him. In addition to being an exercise in self-discipline, his performance protested the living conditions of many Chinese and was a tribute to his friend Ai Wei Wei (another East Village artist) whose family was exiled to Xinjiang during the Cultural Revolution, and whose father was assigned to clean the public toilets every morning.