Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Ida Zhou. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Ida, thank you so much for taking the time to share your lessons learned with us and we’re sure your wisdom will help many. So, one question that comes up often and that we’re hoping you can shed some light on is keeping creativity alive over long stretches – how do you keep your creativity alive?
Back in China, the topic that I am most passionate in, sexuality, is highly taboo. I have been playing around with censorship, gender, and eroticism on my own. Through exploration of my own body and bodies around me, reading stories about bodies, I base my work and creativity on my frustration and thoughts. In the United States, learning about theories on sexuality, my creativity began to incorporate theoratical thoughts and personal emotions. Stemmed from personal feelings, and furthered by a theoratical approach, my creativity is ever-lasting as long as I continue experiencing, feeling, and thinking.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
Major themes of my experimental works are sexuality and physicality. Mulvey’s theory about gaze and Foucault’s history of sexuality had a profound influence on me. They made me think about how sexuality is being presented and interpreted. I began to consciously depict the body in a thoughtful way. We put too much emphasis on our brains, so I turned to the body as a method. Instead of the appearance of things, I have always been drawn to physicality and essence. During my master program of Arts Politics from NYU Tisch, I began to make my art political, which to me means acting unexpectedly. I narrowed my focus to breasts. It is not only in its form appealing to me, the political connotation and debate behind it is fascinating. Viewing breasts as individual beings, I decided to create for them. I used various mediums, film, photography, sculpture, and installation to explore this body part. A film told from a first-breast point of view. A photograph of two nipples forming a heart shape. A zine presenting a breast–shaped piles of paper. Sculptures of a breast-decorated christmas tree, a seemingly soft nipple-plate, or threads connecting months, breasts, heart… Being conscious of the political potential of bodies, the discourse around breast exposure, and female agency, I create works that advocate for a future where all are equal, including the equality between breasts and brains.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
I would say two qualities (being diligent and passionate) and one area of knowlegde (sexuality, again) that profoundly impacted my artistic journey. I am sincerely passionate about the themes I am exploring, so this love behind my creativity kept pushing me to make art diligently. I am self-motivated because I have something to express, and my medium is art. It is necessary to think about why you create, how you create, and what is it that you want to create for. Knowing oneself clearly is a premise for creation.
Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?
I am commited to lesbian emotions and bodies, and relevant themes 🙂 If you are willing to get photographed/filmed (with/without your partner), if you have something to express about queerness, if you have any thoughts on love between two women and their bodies, please contact me @[email protected].
Contact Info:
- Website: https://idazhou.myportfolio.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/idaaalivingonthisworld/
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
