Huang Yong Ping draws from Daoist philosophy and numerological systems to construct his politically thorny, theatrical installations. Coinciding with the escalating political tensions in China, House of Oracles , which originated at Minnesota's Walker Art Center, features Bat Project IV , a partial recreation of the American spy plane that crash-landed in Chinese territory in 2001. Intended for 2002's Guangzhou Triennial, the original, life-size Bat Project was withdrawn from exhibition due to pressure from authorities. Similarly, in 2007, a glass arena crawling with insects and reptiles, titled Theater of the World , angered animal-rights activists at the Vancouver Art Gallery. Huang's representations of human conflict walk a razor's edge between irony and impropriety, but so far, Beijing residents are enjoying the Paris-based artist's first comprehensive exhibition in his homeland.

-Andrew Maerkle

The Walker Art Center published a catalogue for this traveling show.