Yuge Zhou is a video and installation artist based in Chicago. Leaving her hometown Beijing amidst a rapid geopolitical and urban transformation, the artist was left with a longing for rootedness and intimacy. Her art explores themes of belonging, yearning, and fleeting moments in both man-made and natural environments – “the landscapes of our shared dreams.”

Alongside her work as an artist, she oversees 150 Media Stream; an unconventional public digital art display in Chicago for which she collaborates with more than fifty media artists and cultural organizations to develop creative monthly programs that involve a wide range of diverse communities.

We asked Yuge about her art, creative process, and inspirations.

*Video Art: Moon Drawings (winter), 2022 by Yuge Zhou*

Can you tell us about your background as an artist? How did you get started in this field?

While my early training focused on traditional artistic practice, I subsequently studied technology and computer because my family felt that it was a more pragmatic direction. Instead of pulling me away from art, it eventually became an unusual gateway to propel me into a more contemporary realm of art making. When I came to the United States, I picked up a camera and started shooting. This led me to pursue an MFA at the School of the Art Institute in Chicago, where I was able to fuse artistic concepts with the logic associated with technological innovation.

*Love Letters, 2022 by Yuge Zhou —Video projection onto the facade of Merchandise Mart, Chicago*

“Growing up in the second stage of China’s economic reform, I witnessed a massive influx of migration, expansion and globalization. As I have moved from China to America, and from the East coast to the Midwest, I have become deeply intrigued with the social interactions and transient encounters across constructed or natural spaces - the sites of our shared dreams.”

What inspires your art? Are there any particular themes or subjects that you enjoy exploring through your artwork?

Martin Scorsese once said: “The most personal is the most creative”. Many of my recent works were inspired by personal moments in my life. For example, I had a conversation with my mother in 2019, who lives in Beijing, about the physical and emotional distances between us. I found myself longing for home and realizing that both China and America are my home. That brought up this picture in my mind of two figures standing on the edge of the Pacific Ocean, contemplating and looking out towards each other at the same moment, feeling a connection despite the physical distance. This ultimately became the premise for when the East of the day meets the West of the night.

*Video Art: Still from when the East of the day meets the West of the night, 2020 by Yuge Zhou*

“My work originates from a simple desire to observe and connect with the physical and psychological spaces we inhabit. I use the camera to document and reassemble scenes that reveal personal and geopolitical relationships embedded within metaphorical territories and borders.”

What is an event which you consider a milestone in your art career?

I was recently named the 2024 Joyce Foundation Artadia Award recipient. To me, that was a milestone in my career. The award itself is prestigious, but more importantly, during the preparation for studio visit with the jurors, I saw a clear throughline linking my past and current projects and future directions.

*Video Art: Still from Trampoline Color Exercise, 2024 by Yuge Zhou*

Can you tell us about 150 Media Stream, how connected would you say curation is to your art?

For the 150 Media Stream arts program, we have been working with both established, upcoming artists and local cultural institutions since 2017. The installation is very unique in its structure, as it has 89 individual sculptural panels that add up to a very large screening surface. All artworks we show are site-specific, so all artists are utilizing this unique sculptural canvas to create something that is of their expression. Our core mission for this program is also to feature artists with a wide range of backgrounds, from high school art students to international artists, as we want to be a democratic space, where anyone has the opportunity to be featured. We are a public art installation that aims to expand people’s sensitivity towards artworks.

This curatorial position puts me in touch with communities that have very different views about art making – from developers, contractors and architects to financiers and lawyers. This in turn helps me gain a lot of perspectives for my own work for public art venues such as creating Love Letters for Art on the MART.

Can you tell us about your projection art like Love Letters – how does the dialogue between the projected space and the artwork impact your creative process?

Most of my works are filmed on location with real urban or natural sites as backdrops. For this Art on the MART commission, we did an initial projection test with some preliminary footage, and it was during that test that I realized we needed a more simple and abstract visual treatment for the complex art deco facade of the merchandise mart. I decided to incorporate live action footage of the dancers against colored geometric shapes and generative effects, activating the windows of the MART’s façade as if it’s an urban grid. This manifested into one of the most important scenes of Love Letters - two people moving in and out of fragmented fields of shapes on the façade, as if they were playing hide and seek in the labyrinth of a city.

*Video Art: Still from Love Letters (winter), 2021 by Yuge Zhou*

You work with dancers, acrobats… what’s your role like as a director; how specific are you with your directions?

It’s a very collaborative process between the choreographer, performers and myself. Take Love Letters for Art on the MART as an example, what was challenging was not only the choreography itself, but filming dance for camera, and not just one camera. We had five cameras on site from drastically different angles and directions, so the movement had to flow between all these cameras, which is not an easy task. Luckily, I had an amazing team. Choreographer Hannah Santistevan, dancers Rebecca Huang and Xavi Nuñez worked on the movement tirelessly and rehearsed it with as many cameras as we could find. Afterwards I collected the footage from these cameras, mocked up the composition and shared feedback with them. We continued to improve the dance and the camera placements leading up to the official filming.

*Video Art: Excerpt from Underground Circuit, 2017 by Yuge Zhou*

What else fills your time when you’re not creating art?

Checking out the latest shows in local theater - I’m obsessed with watching stories taking place live on stage.

What’s a fun fact about you?

I used to be a popular child singer in China and toured around the country. You can still find many my songs on Chinese streaming platforms and even at karaoke bars.