YUGE ZHOU

Moon Drawings

2020 - 2022, video

In traditional Chinese culture, the moon is a carrier of human emotions. The full moon symbolizes family reunion. Due to the Covid travel restrictions and my US residency status between 2020 and 2022. I was barred from traveling back to Beijing to see my family. While waiting to go back, I decided to create a video series with the general intention of bringing the moon down to me on the earth, inspired by a Chinese legend of Han dynasty entitled, “The lake reflecting the divine moon”:

Yearning for his lost love, Han dynasty emperor Wu Di had a terrace built in his palace park, which he named Fu Yue Tai (俯月台), meaning 'for viewing the moon from above'. To be viewed from above, the moon had to be reflected in water, so the emperor added a lake at the foot of the terrace.

Every winter, I filmed myself alone tracing moon patterns by dragging a suitcase on the snow-covered ground in the parking lot adjacent to my apartment building in Chicago, as if to create circular mantras suspended in a time of waiting. I also made three summer counterparts of the same ritual on a sandy beach by Lake Michigan.

“艺术家周雨歌写道：“在中国传统文化中，月亮是人类情感的载体。满月象征着家庭团聚。”这一信念为周雨歌冥想式的一系列风景画奠定了基础，这些风景画在密歇根湖沿岸的海滩和她公寓附近的雪地停车场上蚀刻出宽阔的圆形图案。这位来自芝加哥的艺术家推迟了2020年在北京与家人的会面，自那以后，她一直渴望回到自己的家乡中。在黎明时分的空中拍摄中，雨歌用手提箱追踪月亮留下的图案，并让附近灯杆的辉光照亮同心标记。视频中的剧照看起来更像是梦幻般的渲染，而不是画面，这是一种美学选择，与汉代传说“映月的湖”中关于渴望普遍性的寓言根源相一致。” — 中国设计之窗

Press:
Creative Boom: Artist Yuge Zhou longs for home in her meditative series of moon drawings
Colossal: Ritualistic ‘Moon Drawings’ by Yuge Zhou Etch Patterns in Snow and Sand
TOPYS: 如果孤独有形状

Solo show at the Chinese American Museum of Chicago, Curated by Larry Lee, Sept. 3 - Oct, 23. 2022

Public programs:
- Poetry workshop in partnership with the Chicago Poetry Center: Saturday, Sept. 10 (Chinese Moon Festival), 12-1pm CT
- Sound performance by Kikù Hibino and Chien-An Yuan: Saturday, Oct. 15. 1-2:30pm CT; More info here

• The show is selected to be a must-see by Hyperallergic as well as The Visualist’s Top V Picks