What Are You Working On Now? Zhiwan Cheung
Zhiwan Cheung, A Matter of Orientation. VR Installation piece. 2023.
What are you working on now? is a Couch in the Desert series where we ask artists what they are making and thinking about in and outside the studio.
Zhiwan Cheung
Throughout the previous year, I have found myself immersed in my doctoral studies. In the course of my academic journey, I managed to create a VR piece that extends Edward Said's critique of Orientalism, delving into how historical objects translate across time, space, and digital realities.
Work in progress for video from 2023. I reused a 3D printed sculpture from my VR piece as a protagonist in a ghost story.
Although my program ostensibly aims to blend art and technology, the stark truth is that the precious hours that should have provided solace within the studio were instead siphoned away by the demands of completing coursework.
Work in progress for video from 2023. I was walking to the beach and saw a kid draped over a tree as the sun set.
In my free time, I craft concise one to two minute videos evoking whatever emotions swirl within me at that place and time. The ultimate destination of these succinct fragments remains veiled in mystery. I eagerly await what these fleeting moving images may unveil in the coming year or two.
Work in progress for video from 2023. In Macau for a performance art gathering, I filmed some activities by the beach.
Zhiwan first got a taste of performing in front of a camera as a book reviewer for Reading Rainbow, the 1990’s television show advocating reading for children. Since then, Zhiwan has continued to probe the intersection of national identity and the personal psyche. Zhiwan has exhibited work both nationally and internationally in venues such as NURTUREart Gallery in New York, Pica Pica Gallery in Berlin, and The Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh. Currently, Zhiwan is currently pursuing a PhD in Computational Media Arts at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology in Guangzhou, China.