Ji Zou (b.1994). Raised in suburban Michigan, they grew up in a cross cultural, polygynous family. During their undergraduate studies in Neuroscience and Sociology, they became interested in meditation practices introduced to them by professors and friends. In their first 10 day silent meditation, painting was the only thing they could think of. Shortly after, they moved to New York City and began to work in commercial illustration and the restaurant industry. They continued to experiment as a digital painter for 6 years before attending Rhode Island School of Design for their MFA in illustration.
Profile picture by Simone Hadebe
Hi Ji! It’s a pleasure to sit down with you! First question that I always ask. How does a regular day look like for you in Providence?
It’s actually very relaxed. I work late (2/3AM) usually or I see friends at night so I get up at a pretty ungodly hour. Coffee first then, I try to get straight to the studio or otherwise run errands for the practice. There’s usually a time in the day which I put aside for computer work so I kind of use that as a break from the studio. On really good days, I’ll see my friends and spend time at the beach.
Growing up, what kind of kid were you? What did you enjoy doing, and how did you spend your time?
I was exceptionally dorky and awkward for most of my childhood. I felt unstimulated by the suburbs of Michigan so I was always writing and drawing and creating my own world. I spent a ton of time playing video games and writing long form Harry Potter RPGs too. I remember I’d set goals for myself in elementary school to make x amount of drawings a day and focus on a specific formal quality of art each month.
Coming from a Hmong/Chinese background, how has that has Influenced you growing up? And how is it depicted in your work?
My parents practice polygyny so my Chinese dad has two Hmong wives. This happened when I was 12 so it was hard for me to process it. I think it’s still challenging as it clashes so much with the American liberal ideals about gender equality and ethnic equality. However, it challenged me to view the world through various cultures and perspectives at once which helped me to develop a more nuanced perspective and one that resists binary modes of thought and morality which I think is extremely pervasive today amongst the right and left and engenders division within communities. My work often feels like a dialogue with itself that is full of contradictions. Sometimes the contradictions exist in one piece and sometimes the pieces take one stance but contradict the other pieces. I’m also examining the space of the erotic and its relationship to gender, labor, and power. This interest is influenced by seeing my mothers use their gender and the erotic as a source of power but also considering how that weighs against a patriarchal, racially discriminant, and capitalistic system. This experience informs how I process these forces in my life today.
I know that you started painting digitally about 7 years ago and then in airbrush 2 years ago. And recently you’ve begun to introduce mixed media into your work. Tell me about that process? and why do you continue adding new tools to express yourself?
I appreciate this question! I’ve always loved to challenge myself with art and experimenting with new tools, techniques, and ways of seeing and making allows me to resist stagnation and boredom in my practice. I dread when my practice starts to feel monotonous and the studio starts to become an office. Experimentation and uncertainty is important to me to enliven the work with freedom and play. The objects we make communicate this sense of aliveness to the people who view and interact with them. I also believe that the work can always be pushed further in technique and context and recently the addition of new materials have helped me to realize this new direction.
So when did you start taking being an artist seriously?
It was gradual for me since I decided to be an artist in 2016 after undergrad but I was distracted by trying to make enough money to support myself and stay sane in New York City. The pandemic in 2020 gave me a lot of space and time to immerse myself in my personal work without external influence and distraction. I took almost a 2 year break from social media and all I did was draw, read, write, cook, and work out. It was an extremely disciplined and structured time which was very generative for my art. I believe this was when I started taking my practice as seriously as I do now.
Ok, let’s talk about your work now. The various dreamlike, surreal scenes in your work. How do you come up with them? And what are you hoping to convey?
Each painting is a bit different but generally, my work draws from recent experiences and how I can represent how those experiences feel in a visual sense rather than how they actually look. I tune into the subconscious manifestations of those experiences so often there’s clear emotion and symbols present but the space is undefined since perception and consciousness cannot be located. I always want my work to help to bridge my subjective experience with the experiences of others.
Same thing goes for the various motifs and characters. Who are they? And what do you look for when choosing your next protagonist?
Interiority has become an important aspect to my work over the last two years at RISD so often these characters are based on some depiction of myself facing myself or others in my life who I’ve encountered and become a mirror for my internal world.
Your works are an intersection between digital cultures, the erotic, the power of the subconscious and reality. What is it about these topics that resonates with you? And why do you wanna document them?
In my last body of work, created while I was still sheltered within art school, I drew influence from the elements that I felt had the most impact on my life. Before this period, my focus was more on themes such as labor, capitalism, class and gender relationships, and intergenerational trauma.
Being in art school is both a privilege and an isolating experience for me, as much of my time was spent in the studio. Consequently, a significant portion of my social interactions occurred in online spaces. This virtual reality is largely shaped by our subjective subconscious. The power of the subjective subconscious to alter our perception of reality, both online and offline, is profound and I’m interested in the ways this manifests for me.
Seeking connection in the online space often intersects with eroticism, as content that captivates viewers fulfills a human need for connection. Eros, or love, is a fundamental human need. The question then arises: can we find this connection in our machine-driven world? Additionally, it becomes crucial to examine the subconscious programming of our brains—understanding how these subconscious influences shape our behaviors, perceptions, and interactions can provide deeper insights into our search for connection to others and ourselves in both the digital and physical realms.
With that in mind. You use art as a means to create more tangibility and find understanding in the anxieties you have around memory, experience, and dreams. Can you tell me about that?
Yes, I believe there’s a lot of wisdom in the subconscious and our bodies that our conscious mind is often not aware of. I gravitate towards certain compositions, colors, materials and make my images sometimes just intuitively or from dreams. Throughout the process, which can take anywhere from a few weeks to a few months, the image reveals more tangible meaning and insight to me about myself and expands my perception on both the piece and an aspect of my life.
Can you walk me through your creative process, from beginning to end result?
I usually start sketching from whatever visual archive I have been building recently— sometimes from dreams, books, the internet, films. The image changes as I sketch and a bit of whatever I’m going through is imbued onto the sketch. When I like something I’ve made, I transfer that to my ipad and apply colors through Procreate. Sometimes I also collage photographs and other references. I take the digital reference and I apply the image to the physical canvas/frame I’ve made. The piece changes even more when I start to apply different materials like mica, organza, holographic paint, etc. I usually work until I don’t know what else I can do.
Can you tell me a story about a time when a connection with someone had a big impact on you?
There are quite a few I can think of— but my friend James, really influenced my life a lot. We graduated from undergrad together, and he encouraged me to pursue the arts instead of the premed track I was on. We decided to move to New York City 7 years ago without any art backgrounds and just tried to figure it out. Now, he’s making waves in fashion photography and has built a strong community around his practice. He’s incredibly supportive of his friends and has always believed in me, even when I doubted myself. He’s truly one of the best human beings I’ve ever met.
What qualities do you find most important in the people you choose to spend time with?
Honesty and the ability to take ownership over your actions, wins, and shortcomings is the most important thing to me in friendships. A close second to that is generosity, where it’s available.
How do you approach color?
I like colors that are vibrant but I find that too many vibrant colors dulls the piece out and becomes overwhelming quickly. I use muted complementary colors and grays to bring out the vibrancy of certain colors where I need them. In choosing the hues, I decide pretty intuitively depending on the effect that I want the piece to exude.
What inspires and motivates you?
The labor of my friends and family inspire and motivate me. People who work hard and persevere through motivates me to continue my practice. Without their example and support I wouldn’t be here.
Alright Ji. I always ask these two questions at the end of an interview. The first is. What’s your favorite movie(s) and why?
I love so many films but I think my favorite is still “Images” (1972) by Robert Altman. I’ve seen it over 10 times now. It’s a psychosexual thriller that follows a children’s book writer through her journey of an increasingly fractured sense of reality. Parallel narratives, one of which is purely auditory, are woven together in the film so beautifully. Each frame of the film is composed with so much symbolism and metaphor that there’s more to take away each time I revisit.
The second is. What song(s) are you currently listening to the most right now?
Perro negro- Bad Bunny
Worms- ashnikko
Undefeated- XG