By: Meng Tiaotiao

What is a person composed of? Artificial intelligence can concisely answer this question about complex biological systems: the body is composed of various elements, molecules, cells, and tissues—this is the material basis of a person’s existence.

And what is “I” composed of? Memory and culture cannot provide us with a single answer. The factors that make “I” what it is are intricate and complex, leaving us no choice but to keep asking ourselves. Just like “Schrödinger’s cat,” the method of observation and exploration determines the essence of existence, and the shape of “I” changes according to different ways of viewing the world. As an artist, Huang Ziyue has an irresistible ambition towards this. She has a clear self-expression in her art practice:

“I am an artist whose practice traverses the intricate landscapes of identity, trauma, and the digital realm. My artistic journey embarks on a dual exploration—delving inward into the intricacies of personal experience and outward to unravel the complexities of our digital society.

Inwardly, I embark on an exploration rooted in the paradoxical conflict of my identity—being a lesbian with an Oedipal complex. This introspective journey takes me through the labyrinth of LGBTQ experiences in East Asia, where I delve into the trauma and profound impact of existing as a marginalized identity. Additionally, I explore the intricate tapestry of East Asian mother-daughter relationships, shedding light on the emotional dynamics woven within.“

“On the outward trajectory of my artistic exploration, I specialize in crafting ‘Internet Personas’ within my works. These personas are integral to narratives that expose the harsh realities of internet politics, particularly their impact on marginalized communities. They also serve as a reflection on the colonization of people’s imagination by capital. Rooted in extensive research across various media, my works invite the audience to contemplate the construction of individual online identities. I navigate the realm of internet politics, exploring the boundaries between reality and virtuality.”

Exploration in two dimensions interacts with the medium of Moving Image. Andy Warhol said, “In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes.” In an era dominated by video clips, she uses this most familiar technology and language to explore and showcase herself and us, shaped by the culture propagated through this technology and language.

As an individual, Huang Ziyue is even more ruthless. She describes herself as someone with a relentless desire to dig deep and investigate thoroughly for information. She makes herself the subject of dissection, surrendering to art until she becomes entangled, neurotically questioning herself, trying to outline her form in a chaotic and ambiguous world. The Tang Dynasty painter Zhang Zao said, “Draw Artistic Inspiration from Both Within and Without.” According to this precept, in pursuing artistic creation, one needs to draw inspiration from all things in nature and his innermost thoughts. Zaohua (造化) means nature. Xinyuan (心源) is a Buddhist term, meaning that the true awakening of one’s mind is the root of all Buddhist teaching. Today’s situation has completely changed—the online world is the prism through which we reflect on ourselves and the world.

Photo Courtesy: Huang Ziyue

Before taking on her new identity as an artist, Huang Ziyue was a fan fiction writer with a word count of one to two million words, a hardcore anime fan, a patient suffering from a chronic back injury, and a child who experienced childhood bullying. Her creations are as complex as her identity, deeply rooted in the Chinese internet world. Like the internet, her ambition is all-encompassing, aiming to venture into any field.

Photo Courtesy: Huang Ziyue
Huang Ziyue Solo Exhibition: “Happy61”, Exhibition Scene, Yell Space, Shanghai, 2022

Huang Ziyue’s experiences as a web novel writer on Literature Website during her adolescence brought a unique quality to her moving image scriptwriting. Her moving image works are distinctly separated from the real world, characterized by vibrant colors and complex elements. At the initial viewing stage, her works deliver high-density information that overloads the brain. Works such as “When Yellow Huang Not Cry,” “The Goldfish Girl Only Lived for Seven Months,” “Pdd Magic,” “Tulpa,” and “Miss Guanyin, I’ll Take You Home” resemble dreams: frenzied dreams, confined dreams, fantastical dreams, sorrowful dreams, bizarre dreams. The internet shatters the barrier between reality and virtuality in our rapid eye movement period, intruding into our consciousness. From religion, childhood, and cyber autobiographies to internet success doctrines, the principles and manuals of human existence also originate from the internet.

In “Tulpa,” she uses Zoom Meeting to gather six of her mental companions to discuss herself, piecing together her life with stories and words. In “When Yellow Huang Not Cry,” she simulates the successful life of a virtual character named Yellow Huang, compiling the enviable mythologies of internet success in recent years to create an image of success born out of the internet’s will. In “The Goldfish Girl Only Lived for Seven Months,” she recreates a virtual teenage idol, showcasing how the internet discourse within the confines of a phone screen physically confines her career, personal fate, and value. The meticulously designed web interfaces mixed with genuine praise and bullying comments once present on the internet create the portrait of the gazed-at girl. Huang Ziyue excels at using familiar internet events, creating collages and phenomena that prompt reflections on the cultural mechanisms behind them.

“Complex components” is my first intuitive impression when watching Huang Ziyue’s moving image works, and it is a constant theme in my descriptions of her and her creations. Her tireless self-exploration and pursuit of perfection in her work evoke a near-sublime sense of emotion and power within me.

About the Author

Graduated from the Central Academy of Fine Arts, Meng is an artist and anthropologist living in Germany. In her art practice, she often curates exhibitions from an anthropological perspective, using a social intervention approach. She has curated exhibitions in Beijing and London.

Published by: Martin De Juan