We recently connected with Zhenyan Zhang and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Zhenyan, so happy to have you on the platform and I think our readers are in for a treat because you’ve got such an interesting story and so much insight and wisdom. So, let’s start with a topic that is relevant to everyone, regardless of industry etc. What do you do for self-care and how has it impacted you?
Since the beginning of 2020, I have been trying to run. At first, I could barely run 3km, but now I can easily run 13-16km every day. Running helps me feel more calm and stable, reduces anxiety, and improves concentration. I consider daily jogging to be an excellent way of self-care.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I come from a provincial capital city in central China, and my parents are very traditional and conservative. I am the only child of my parents. With China’s reform and urbanization process, the intergenerational gap between parents and children in Chinese families has become huge. Parents find it difficult to understand their children’s thoughts and feelings, and children also find it difficult to understand the historical background in which their parents grew up and the profound shaping of their parents by this historical background. Under the significant intergenerational conflicts, I began to try to express some of my feelings through sketching. So I have an important series of charcoal works, called “Burning Questions”, which translates to a very urgent problem. In my works, the core of my creation revolves around exploring how individuals can achieve a more powerful and conscious self in the process of self growth, in conflicts with their environment and multiple inner needs, and presents the pain and joy that carry through the entire growth process. This question is the most urgent yet easily overlooked one for every individual: Who am I? What do I want to become? Where am I going? In the constantly lost time of each day, it is the questions I will repeatedly ask myself.
Life is like an eternal dilemma, where everyone has varying degrees of scarcity and vulnerability. But the reason why people are human is that they can choose between “optimism” and “action”. Even if they realize this eternal dilemma, they still choose to persevere and take on all the good and bad, like Sisyphus, pushing the giant stone called “fate” towards the depths step by step, stepping out of a spiritual realm belonging to themselves. This kind of human nature willpower condenses into sweat and tears, laughter and anger, shining brightly on the long journey of life, while also irrigating new life and energy, paving the way for others and leading each other towards deeper connections.
How to present this theme through picture is the most challenging and attractive part for me. At the same time, my sketch works also presents my personal experience and feelings more intuitively and realistically instead of the words.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
1.Patience. 2.Maintain a good habit of continuous learning.
3.Be honest with yourself.
Don’t think too much. Start by doing it first, but don’t cling to being perfect from the beginning. It is also valuable to try quickly and receive feedback from the outside world for timely adjustment.
How can folks who want to work with you connect?
Yes, I am looking for collaborators. If you are interested in my works and proficient in marketing and promoting art, it would be even better. You can contact me through my email: [email protected]
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zhangzhenyan_gungun?igsh=aGphemttMTdjMTAw&utm_source=qr
- Other: https://www.xiaohongshu.com/user/profile/5fb635690000000001006890?xhsshare=CopyLink&appuid=5fb635690000000001006890&apptime=1711882919
