YYL: The new series, Parallel Metropolis, features landscapes of New York City and its surroundings. For the first time, there’s a city other than my hometown, Shanghai, that occupies almost the full percentage of the images.

Previously, my landscapes always started with Shanghai landscapes, even though they were a mixture of multiple Asian cities and beyond. Since the pandemic years, I started combining landscapes from all over the world. Sometimes, I'd put a Norway waterfall next to the London Bridge, connecting Hong Kong's port to the Hudson River. However, in Parallel Metropolis, I’m attempting to portray a city more iconic to its true essence.

Portraying cities as landscapes has become second nature to me; it was a hobby that turned into a profession. Whenever I visit a new place, I can't help but see fragments of a digital landscape, whether from simply walking through a neighbourhood or glancing at a certain intersection. The history of a city and the diversity of its architectural styles deeply intrigue me, and they inspire new directions in my work — in my way of seeing these new places.

Through Parallel Metropolis, I began portraying cities beyond my birthplace. And it is an absolutely fascinating process; it made me feel like my work is being reborn.

I moved to New York in 2018, and since then, I’ve lived in Murray Hill, Hell’s Kitchen,Lower East Side, Long Island City in Queens, and eventually moved further east on Long Island. Initially, I interpreted New York the same way I viewed Shanghai, until I completely broke this method and started seeing the city without a pre-existing concept of an urban place. Then, I truly began to understand New York.

There’s a huge difference between the landscapes of Shanghai and NYC. While the high-rises in Shanghai are more homogeneous and were mostly built in the 90s and early 2000s, the buildings in New York are much more diverse, containing more layers of the city’s historical changes. It took many experiments for me to figure out how to fairly portray the NYC landscape, with respect to what the city means to its residents. After living in New York for more than five years, I feel entitled to start portraying this city, and I hope my portrayal introduces a unique insider’s view.

While my Shanghai series focuses more on the fast urban growth of China, my New York series emphasizes an experience of multiculturalism and trans-regional living as a global citizen.

My view of the world has evolved as I've matured, allowing me to see the world from different perspectives. A few years ago, I felt that I might hit a ceiling if I stayed in one place, since I am a landscape artist and my surrounding landscape had become too familiar and comfortable. I knew that my work would hardly change if I didn’t change my environment and start anew.

After moving to the States, my thoughts became fresh as my surroundings fed me different stimuli; I realized I must stay curious, open-minded, and constantly alert. Gradually, these new feelings reshaped my work in an organic way, until I reached the next breakthrough and came up with something I’d never imagined before. I make sure to portray landscapes that are objective, with very few hints of my personal beliefs, leaving it to the audience to interpret what they really see.

Regarding the U.S. elections, I view them as an outsider from a place where elections aren’t accessible to its citizens. Being able to vote is better than having no choice at all. As a close observer in America, I will stay tuned to this dramatic chaos.

Yes, my work is constantly evolving to align with the latest technological advancements. I stay up-to-date with all technologies and skills; however, I only select the ones that truly support my scope of work, instead of being led by techniques that have little to do with what I aim to achieve.

For example, when Virtual Reality came around, I saw how it was connected to the idea of a multi-perspective viewing experience, which is fundamental to the methods of traditional Chinese landscape painting. In this case, exploring VR is perfect for me. In contrast, Augmented Reality, while equally exciting as a growing technique, doesn’t really speak to landscapes, and therefore I won't delve into it.

I have started using A.I. tools to support my work. In my opinion, A.I. is capable of generating imagery that serves many creative and artistic uses, but the essence of A.I. is fundamentally contradictory to what true art means to me.

I’m excited to kick off the year with a New Year group show at the China Institute, featuring five recent videos including Glows in the Arctic, which I showcased with Sullivan+Strumpf Singapore back in 2023. In March, I have a solo exhibition coming up at the HOW Art Museum in Shanghai, entitled Vanishing Shore. Later this year, the same exhibition will tour to France with the Art Contemporain Salomon. In June, I’m bringing this new series, Parallel Metropolis, to Sullivan+Strumpf Melbourne.