Love Letters is the latest series by Yuge Zhou, the visual artist making headlines in the American art scene. Born in China, she now lives in Chicago. Two new episodes from Love Letters arrive as the latest project after the first episode in the series debuted in a huge video art installation for Art on the Mart. As a reminder, Art on the Mart in Chicago is the largest permanent digital art projection in the world, projecting contemporary artworks onto THE MART's 2.5-acre riverfront.

In addition to her own artistic works, Zhou is also the curator of 150 Media Stream, another public digital art installation. All these artistic skills have a background, as Zhou first studied information and computer technology before she started studying art. Zhou refers to the key elements she learned in computer engineering as logic, design and structure. These are sometimes subtly expressed in her work.

Love Letters is currently on view in the exhibition LOVE: Still Not the Lesser at the Museum of Contemporary Photography, curated by Asha Iman Veal, who has selected 12 artists. The choreography is by Hannah Santistevan with movement artists Sam Crouch and Rebecca Huang. Love Letters depicts a love triangle between two people in a labyrinthine metropolis over the course of four seasons. They overcome obstacles and physical barriers to express their affection. Why does the artist choose the theme of dance? "I've always been fascinated by the human form, gestures and behaviours under different social contexts and encounters, specifically the codes, signs and symbols of our communication, its beauty and sometimes absurdity." The idea for Love Letters was conceived in 2020, when Zhou noticed people's need for physical connection and intimacy.

18 September 2023

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Name: Yuge Zhou

Occupation: Artist

Education: Master of Fine Art, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Master of Science, Syracuse University, Bachelor of Engineering, Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications 

Can you tell readers about your work in the new exhibition „LOVE: Still Not the Lesser“?

It’s a group show at the Museum of Contemporary Photography in Chicago that opens on August 17 and on view until December 22, 2023. The show is organized by the very talented and thoughtful curator at the museum, Asha Iman Veal, and it features twelve international artists exploring “the ways they encounter and understand love,” whether romantic, social or familial. 

I will be showing the summer and winter episodes of the Love Letters video series. The series, choreographed by Hannah Santistevan with movement artists Sam Crouch and Rebecca Huang, portrays a courtship dance between two people in a labyrinth metropolis over the course of four seasons. They overcome obstacles and physical barriers in order to communicate their affection. The summer episode features two dancers standing on the east and west banks of the Chicago River, sending messages to one another from afar using gestures, against the industrial backdrop of the city’s South Side neighborhood. In the winter episode, we watch from above a playful chase between the dancers on a multi-axis pier during a snowstorm. 

"I wanted to create a project that zooms into the story of a couple and stages a meaningful encounter between them."

Your artwork „Love Letters“ is a dance performance. Why do you want to express your vision in this form?

I’ve always been fascinated by the human form, gestures and behaviors under different social contexts and encounters, specifically the codes, signs and symbols of our communication, its beauty and sometimes absurdity. A lot of my earlier work depicted spontaneous interactions within a crowded community in various public urban settings. Love Letters was conceived in 2020, when we were collectively in a state of isolation and longing for physical connection and intimacy. So I wanted to create a project that zooms into the story of a couple and stages a meaningful encounter between them. Instead of actual dialogue, the more intentional choreography allows the couple to communicate via their bodies and gestures and to show how their relationship unfolds. 

Yuge Zhou Love Letters-winter Courtesy the artist

"I can find poetry in the fact that they had this beautiful encounter."

You write that behind „Love Letters“ lies the traditional Chinese concept of "Yuan 缘", a fateful crossroads that leads to a relationship with an uncertain future.

In Chinese culture, the word “Yuan” or “缘“ means fate or a destined synchronicity where if you meet someone, even briefly, it is the result of karma from a past life, and lovers are people who have met over and over in their previous incarnations. This concept inspired the cyclical nature of the Love Letters series for which the couple encounters each other again and again over the course of the seasons and passage of time. And in the final moment of the winter episode of Love Letters, there is no resolution. The dancers gracefully part ways in two different directions, which I think is a more realistic depiction of modern relationships in a big metropolis. I can find poetry in the fact that they had this beautiful encounter.

Besides Love Letters, you are also the curator of 150 Media Stream. What is it like to work in public space as an artist?

150 Media Stream is a uniquely structured public digital art installation. Since its launch in 2017, our arts program has featured works by over fifty established and emerging media artists, designers and institutions, engaging a cross-section of diverse communities. One thing I notice and appreciate is the incredible energy and curiosity people have for art. This curatorial position puts me in touch with communities that have very different views about art-making, from developers, contractors and architects to financiers and lawyers. 

You became famous in China at the age of 5 when you sang Little Dragon Boy, the most famous Chinese children's TV series. What was this early fame like for you?

The experience of performing on stage definitely planted a seed in my heart for wanting to touch people with my own expression. But I am actually a very shy person and I slowly discovered that I would prefer to be behind the camera than in front of it. 

Why did you actually move to Chicago?

I came to Chicago to pursue my MFA at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and ended up staying here. I like the bustle of the city, its beautiful architecture and most of all, the warm, welcoming people in the art community. It’s like a second home to me now. 

"I would say the key elements that I learned from computer engineering concerned logic, design, and structure."

You first studied information and computer engineering. How did you decide to study art and design? How do you combine your engineering skills with art?

I would say the key elements that I learned from computer engineering concerned logic, design, and structure. Sometimes these elements are shown subtly in my work. For example, in Soft Plots, a video portraying a quilt-like patchwork of volleyball and Frisbee players appearing and disappearing in sand. The actions seem random, but there is an underlying structure involving timing and location. In a more obvious example, many of my video installations use reliefs with projected images precisely mapped onto panels. I enjoy pairing precision from computer engineering and conceptual thinking from artistic practices to create both novelty and order.

You will also be exhibiting work in Sofia, Bulgaria. Can you tell us more about that? 

From October 23 - 28, 2023, I will be showing the four videos (Green Play, Deep Ends, Soft Plots, Pale Patrol) from The Humors series at ONE Gallery in Bulgaria as part of the DA festival organized by the National Academy of Art in Sofia and DA Lab Foundation. I’m excited to visit the city in person (my first time traveling abroad since the pandemic) and to give an artist talk about the work. 

Yuge Zhou Love Letters-winter Courtesy the artist

Artist Yuge Zhou Courtesy the artist