ARTIST INTERVIEW

Young Artist Zhou Meng

Zhou Meng, born in Shaoxing, China, works across dynamic imagery, installations, sculptures, paintings, and poetry. 

A graduate of Camberwell College of Arts and the Royal College of Art (RCA), his works have been exhibited in numerous public exhibitions 

in Europe and China, including London Art Night, 021 Contemporary Art Fair, Shanghai's Bund No. 22, Barbican Centre, 

Chelsea Arts Club, European Cultural Centre, and Wuhan Art Museum. His works have been shortlisted for the Traver Smith, 

Laguna International Art Prize, Celeste Art Prize, among others, and the China Academy of Art has published two of his art collections.

Q：When did you start creating prints? 

What interesting experiences or challenges did you encounter in the process?

A：I started learning some basics of printmaking through a friend's introduction during my university years, but I wasn’t proficient. 

After joining the CHAO studio, my work became more casual, and the biggest challenge was "following the rules" 

– finding more possibilities within limited rules and materials. 

Of course, tearing paper was very stress-relieving when the quantity wasn’t too large.

Q：How has the relationship between prints and paintings inspired you?

A：As a creator, printmaking is a fantastic medium for sharing work, allowing more people to see it. 

Printmaking also achieves many effects that brushstrokes can't. I had a lot of fun throughout the process. 

It inspired me to communicate through different media, and I saw many other printmaking forms that 

made me eager to learn about different media and traditions.

Foison

Zhou Meng

silkscreen 80 x 60 cm

Canson Edition paper 103.5 x 80 cm

Printed in 2 colours

50 Edition

2021

Printed at CHAO Printmaking Studio | Beijing

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Zhou Meng

silkscreen 80 x 60 cm

Canson Edition paper 103.5 x 80 cm

Printed in 2 colours

50 Edition

2021

Printed at CHAO Printmaking Studio | Beijing

Q：Who or what influenced you to become an artist or to create certain types of works?

A：There wasn't a ceremony or appointment to become an artist.

 One day, when people started viewing me differently or when I said something they found strange, 

they'd remark, "Oh, you're an artist." 

There wasn't a specific event or person that made me an artist. 

It was through communication with others that I discovered my quirks, and I was then defined. 

My works don’t lead but rather guide people to express their thoughts. This autonomy is what I pursue.

Q：What are your sources of inspiration?

A：Traveling, learning, theater, and comics are my sources of inspiration. 

In summary, it's about living earnestly; inspiration is everywhere in the diverse human and natural world. 

Don't be confined by the present, follow personal interests, and boldly seek directions.

Q：Favorite artist or work?

A：My favorite artist is Sarah Lucas, and my favorite works are Egon Schiele's paintings.

Q：What recent person, event, or thing moved you?

A：In Panama, seeing the sea level rise rapidly, beaches vanish, 

plastic waste everywhere, and overpopulation was quite helpless.

Zhou Meng's studio

Q：How is your typical workday arranged? For example, how does a day in the studio start?

A：Mornings are a bit slow, dealing with pre-arranged paperwork, then completing some manual tasks. 

Since I work for myself, the schedule is quite flexible.

Q：What’s your recent work method and creative state?

A：Recently, I enjoy traveling, finding a culture or story I like, then visiting the place of the story. 

I pick up stones in the Sahara Desert, learn mask-making in Japan, and observe the destruction of nature in Panama

Q：Could you recommend some books, music, and movies you like?

A：I recommend watching DV8’s dance videos. If that’s too heavy, try Pina Bausch.

ARTIST STATEMENT

As an artist/observer, my thoughts often build on natural ecology and human heritage, 

as well as the dialectic of transition and transformation. 

Using different media like installations, images, paintings, and sculptures as carriers, 

the visualized speculative process explores the responsibilities or obligations of humans toward culture and nature.

The creative process begins with known and existing materials, combined with natural curiosity, 

and is polished through traditional or modern craftsmanship. 

Through the material exchange of the internal and external worlds, 

I aim to create an immersive imaginary scene, 

abstracting the dependent and overturned relationship between humans and the environment. 

Meanwhile, the extraction of dreams and myths, 

through replication, pasting, and editing, forms a hybrid flavor wandering between virtual and reality.

My works draw from myths, nature, and folklore from different regions, 

depicting traces more or less pulled by mainstream cultures of different eras. 

As a human, I inherit endless historical legacy and gifts, 

the communal spirit of predecessors, which continuously inspires me. 

Stripping away the core of sameness, the narrow and partial conflicts also soberly point out our current position.

Accidents and coincidences always guide my work. 

I see each encounter with materials as a transformative journey, not just a simple material change, 

and I always remember the warmth and texture of different stories.

One Hundred Million and One Night

Zhou Meng

Resin, wood, fossils, pearls, meteorites, ores, paraffin, waxes

Dimensions variable

2022

Yuanqiu Mountain

Zhou Meng

Mulberry paper, cotton paper, pulp, PVA, ink

150 x 120 cm

2021