To afar the water flows

To afar the water flows (Installation) from Yuge Zhou on Vimeo. Click the image above to start the video

To afar the water flows

(MFA thesis work, 2015, video projection onto relief sculpture)

♦ Exhibited at the SIGGRAPH Asia 2015 at Kobe International Exhibition Hall in Kobe, Japan

♦ Exhibited at the 22^nd International Symposium on Electronic Art (ISEA 2016) in Hong Kong

♦ Selected to be part of the International Exhibition on Conceptual Art at Czong Institute for Contemporary Art (CICA) museum in South Korea

♦ Selected to be part of the “Unfolded” Exhibition at Chicago Design Museum

Artist Statement:

I am deeply intrigued by the interplay of the built and natural environments—light, clouds, traffic and footsteps, moving objects and spaces…. In traditional Chinese landscape painting, the water is a common symbol of flow and harmony; for me, the rhythm of sounds on pavement is equally as nostalgic. Through its endless repetitions, the city inherits the cycles and transcendence of nature.

My installation is inspired by the concept of architectural relief (a technique where the sculpted elements remain attached but raised above the background plane). My audiences experience a gradual shift in the appearance and depth of my installation from a flat image to a three-dimensional relief. I use techniques like relief and projection mapping to enhance the framed glimpses of sceneries as well as emphasize the physicality of digital video.

Sound design by Yairon Martinez.

About The Artist

Yuge Zhou

Yuge Zhou 周雨歌 is an artist and graphic designer from Beijing, China. She currently lives in Chicago, Illinois, and works as a curator and creative director for the largest new media and video art installation (a 3300-square foot LED screen) due to launch in 2017 in downtown Chicago. The installation will feature commissioned artwork by world-renowned media artists, emerging artists, as well as collaborative groups of students and educators.

In 2015, Yuge earned her MFA from the Visual Communication Design Department, School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She also holds a Masters degree in Computer Engineering from Syracuse University located in upstate New York. Ms. Zhou has exhibited her work nationally and internationally at SIGGRAPH Asia 2015 in Kobe, Japan, Chicago Design Museum, CICA museum in South Korea, New York State Museum, Angel Orensanz Foundation for Contemporary Art in New York City, The POWERHOUSE Arena in Brooklyn, NewYork, as well as the Chicago Art Department, West Bund Art Fair in Shanghai China, Mexican Digital Culture Centre in Mexico City, and several other institutions. She will be participating in the ISEA 2016 in Hong Kong, and the Santa Fe New Media Festival at El Museo Cultural de Santa Fe in June of this year. Yuge’s digital photography, “Corruption of the modern Snow White” graced the cover page of aaduna’s fall 2012 issue.