We recently connected with Shengwei Zhou and have shared our conversation below.
Shengwei, appreciate you making time for us and sharing your wisdom with the community. So many of us go through similar pain points throughout our journeys and so hearing about how others overcame obstacles can be helpful. One of those struggles is keeping creativity alive despite all the stresses, challenges and problems we might be dealing with. How do you keep your creativity alive?
One night I had a strange dream. I dreamed that I was chasing a large group of faceless people, and in a sea of bloody killings, I suddenly entered a deep ocean. I raised my hand, only to find it was a whale’s fin. In my dream I felt myself sharing emotions with a huge whale in the distance. After this dream, I started to reflect on my ego. I felt like I was so closed off and narcissistic before, and when I realized it, I felt a sudden sense of relief and a lot of inspiration came inside my body.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
Influenced by my mentor Kathy smith, I have been recording my dreams and re-editing them into digital works of art. In the past few years, I have been working on a project called “Perfect City” series animation. This is a world made of materials and dreams. There are five episodes in total, each of which explores one or several materials and their emotional charm. And I put my dreams into these materials as narrative texts to form a private emotional expression framework.
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?
The capacity for self-reflection. Courage. Ability to love.
Is there a particular challenge you are currently facing?
I’ve come to realize that I’m always selectively remembering what happened. My friends and family often say that I am so absorbed in my own world that I ignore many details in life. My biggest difficulty at present is how to further understand myself, break my ego on the basis of understanding myself, and experience a wider and multi-dimensional world.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://zhoushengwei.squarespace.com/
- Instagram: shengwei_zhou_director
- Facebook: Shengwei Zhou
- Linkedin: Shengwei Zhou
Image Credits
Shengwei Zhou
