We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Zixuan Zhou. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Zixuan below.

Hi Zixuan, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

As an animator and an MFA student at CalArts, I am working on a mixed-media project that explores emotions and death. For me, delving into the expression of emotions and the reasons behind our fear of death is a deeper reflection on the concept of the ‘self.’ This is also the first time I am giving form to the ‘self’ directly, rather than conveying it through a medium or a narrative. In order to give form to my fear of death, I reflected deeply on my past, my dreams, and my relationships with my family—especially those moments that inspired me to contemplate death. I also read extensively about death imagery and ways to alleviate death anxiety. I discovered that this is, in fact, a common emotion. Many people struggle in this emotional quagmire, but they disguise these subtle feelings amid the busyness of modern life. However, this fountain of unease, anxiety, and even fear will inevitably erupt, pulling us into darkness. This is why I aim to discuss emotions, rather than death itself. I hope this project will encourage the audience to give form to their fears, to illustrate their own death imagery, and through that process, feel their emotions and reflect on the composition of the self.

Zixuan, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am a multimedia animator and an independent artist. During university, my major was in Cultural Industry Management—an idealistic utopia focused on monetizing art. My experience as a project manager made me more concerned with the purity of art, especially since, as a manager, I was always positioned as an outsider. This perspective made me more aware of my desire for self-expression and creativity. Therefore, when I create a piece of work now, I view it from a more macro perspective, examining the relationship between myself and the world. How does my work express itself in today’s world? Does this kind of work have a sense of timeliness? Have I fallen into the trap of self-expression? And so on.

I enjoy working with stop-motion animation because manipulating puppets and objects makes me feel calm and focused, allowing me to concentrate more on the hidden text in my work rather than being consumed by the progress of the project. Currently, I am working on a piece for my first year at CalArts in the Experimental Animation MFA program. It’s a stop-motion animation leaning toward abstract and emotional visualization. Prior to this, I had two character-driven stop-motion animations screened at film festivals: Triangle and Surrealism Experience. These two films explore feminism and surrealism, which are, of course, my personal interpretations of these themes. Both films have clear cinematic tendencies, with many shots that feel cinematic in nature, borrowing from compositions like those in The Loch Ness Monster and Scavenger‘s Reign. But now, I am more inclined toward flat compositions without perspective, which can be seen in my unfinished work.

Alright – so here’s a fun one. What do you think about NFTs?

I believe NFTs provide a way to monetize artwork. On the positive side, they offer artists a new revenue model, providing an alternative career path beyond serving large companies. Additionally, they bypass traditional art dealers, like galleries, giving artists a stronger voice and more control over pricing in the art market. The encrypted nature of NFTs also better protects the copyright of digital artworks, offering digital artists more space for growth and development.

However, current NFTs are far from perfect. The close association with cryptocurrencies raises concerns for me; if the cryptocurrency market crashes, the value of artwork would also be destroyed, causing the entire market to collapse. Moreover, in terms of promoting artistic diversity, the NFT art market is flooded with digital art representations focused mainly on Avatars, making the products relatively homogeneous. This also points to a more narrow audience—mainly young, curious individuals in need of online personal attributes. It still falls short of reaching the aesthetic richness and cash flow seen in offline art markets.

That being said, I believe that if NFT technology can collaborate with other high-quality art content and enhance the platform’s user diversity, it would still be very meaningful.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

I believe that instead of directly providing money to support artists, society should focus more on establishing a reliable path for artists’ growth, legally protecting their intellectual property (especially in the face of AI’s impact), and considering how art can develop sustainably while fostering a healthy competitive environment. Additionally, attention should be paid to information transparency. If there are programs aimed at artist development or if companies need to collaborate with artists, social organizations should take the lead in publishing relevant information and overseeing its legality.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://zixuanzhou.space
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/y_w_metheus/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zixuan-zhou-aa006b34b/