​The Genetic Lottery

In her seriesThe Genetic Lottery, Zhang Yanzi illustrates this idea through the irises of eyes. Irises come in endless shades: black, purple, blue and green. Even among people with black eyes, no two irises are identical. For the artist, the eye iris stands as a symbol of human genes. Privileged birth is nothing but winning the lottery at the genetic level.

She painted eyes of distinct hues on one panel, then carved these forms out and rearranged them into a second piece. The two works form positive and negative shapes, creating an intertextual dialogue with each other.