Kitchen Talk 10
yixiaozyx
“Zhao explores the intricate relationship between artificial urban infrastructure and the natural destructive cycles that surround it, where the fluidity of the stillness hints at an unseen force.”
Introduce yourself, list three things we need to know about you or your practice.
I’m Yixiao ⼀晓, I was born in Bochum and grew up in Shanghai. Most of the time I am a graphic designer. Artistic practice allows me to be vulnerable and personal through the silent, where sound and language become peripheral. Not being naturally expressive has led to a habit of relying on words and things that can express for me. If they can create some form of communication, then maybe I don't need to speak.
What’s your creative process?
在上海夏天最炎热的时候我只有⽇落后会出⻔，半夜回家时会驶过通往佘⼭的⾼速，⼭脚边的路上⼏乎不会有 其他⻋，只有靠着吸收⼤地余温⽽发出低沉⽽漫⻓照明的灯。不⽤加速，⼤地⾃⼰会震动。这是⼀天最安静的时刻，也是最响亮的，世界的背⾯，有着它⾃⼰的声⾳。我先是⼤地，再是灯，偶尔是⾏驶的⻋。
What factors have influenced your creation?
Recently:
What’s your main medium, how does your medium govern your artistic practice?
I don’t know if I have one yet, but Im drawn to the mediums that can have multiple states or some sort of fluidity within stillness, like metal, wax, ice cubes… Or translucent things! Cellophane, tracing paper, film…
What’s a standard studio day for you?
Most days I focus on one medium at a time, and different mediums make up a week. If I have a shoot today, I’ll be doing editing work the next day, then I’ll be in the print lab. Sometimes it goes from darkroom to metal shop or somewhere else. The workflow usually comes down to sitting in font of the screen. Graphic design sort of ties all the practices together. I enjoy going back and forth between spaces and ways of making.
I’ve been working remotely in a different time zone lately, I try to do a bit of something else during the day.
What’s been on your mind lately?
1，有时候我觉得⼩时候身体未发育完全，记忆就算你记不记得都总是往深了钻，填进⻣架间的缝，等缝被填满了，⼈也就⻓⼤了。
2，最近⼀直在想关于“薄薄⼀层”。那些模糊的，朦胧的时刻到底为何如此难以抓住。犹如⼀处飘着雾的浅湾，⼀⼝井。你可以感应到尽头，却因为有影⼦的过渡难以看清，变的悠⻓⽽富有层次。也许薄薄的⼀层是很多层，我们就活在这些空隙之间。
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左：村上春树的“荧”（谢谢Simon的分享）
右：The Red Book by Carl Jung
3，
How’s life outside of studio?
梦⾥环球旅游持续中![]()
Share one favorite item of yours.
This is my only nail polish, I always wear it. It fades easily through friction, leaving textures that match with new york’s cityscape. I use it to measure the days that passes by.
Plans for the future?
想要赚够钱去学珠宝⾦⼯，最好考⼀个证。买⼀台相机，想要弄清所有不同打印⼯艺背后的操作原理。
And finally, how do you like your eggs?
Yixiao Zhao (b. 2002, Bochum) is an artist who lives and works between New York City, Shanghai, and Munich. She received her BFA in Communication Design from Parsons School of Design. Expanding the boundaries of photography, sculpture and digital media, Zhao explores the intricate relationship between artificial urban infrastructure and the natural destructive cycles that surround it, where the fluidity of the stillness hints at an unseen force.