When Ooi Botos Gallery in Wan Chai (Hong Kong) shown ‘My Heart Laid Bare’ featuring Cannes-award-winning Charlotte Gainsbourg last year, Yi Zhou oozed her audience with an engaging and surreal story.

Text: Makim | Edit: Carmen Lee | Translation: dilettante | Photo Courtesy: Yi Zhou

Born in Shanghai, Yi Zhou grew up in Rome and working in Paris and Hong Kong as an artist. Her latest offering ‘Around the Earbridge’ features Pharrell Williams. The work-in-progress ‘We Were Once a Fairy Tale’ (starring Kanye West and Spike Jonze) is set to be another surprise.

Y – YI ZHOU

Q: What are the difficulties for a Chinese artist to pursue an art career in Europe?
Y: It wasn’t easy, especially in the beginning. Communication and language are very important, the lack of it brings much daily inconvenience, let alone creating art. I am lucky to be living in Rome with my parents, which opens up my horizon.

Q: Your media includes 3D sculpture, animation and short film. How do you organize each of them?
Y: I work with film company, 3D animation company and other collaborators. My role is like a producer, expressing my thoughts through the team work.

Q: How was it working with Charlotte Gainsbourg?
Y: She is a very cool actress. I had her in mind when I wrote the screenplay and she is perfect for it. Her every body gesture and facial expression is very artistic.

Q: How did you meet Pharrell Williams?
Y: I met him about two years ago, through a friend. He knew I was making a short film and we talked about some ideas. Pharrell is very interested in multi-media. And then I started writing the story for ‘Around the Earbridge’.

Q: The story of ‘Around the Earbridge’ is rather daring. Please could you tell us more?
Y: It is a multi-media project. There is the 3D sculpture ‘Earbridge’, image exhibition, the 7-minute short film ‘The Ear’ starring Pharrell Williams. He is a professional actor and we work well together. The original soundtrack by Ennio Morricone is also very cool.

PROFILE
Born in Shanghai in 1978, Zhou moved to Rome with her family at the age of nine. She started to visit art classes in university and engage with art ever since. After achieving her Political Science and Economics Degrees in London and Paris, Zhou started to release art work in Paris. Her multi-media art work emphasizes on images and 3D, also 35mm film and sculpture. Zhou has been taking part in many multi-media art shows since 2002, her experimental film ‘Avatars’ was part of Venice Independent Film Festival. The French electronic duo Air created the soundtrack for ‘Hear, Earth, Heart’ (2009). After showing in Shanghai, ‘Around the Earbridge’ is going to be an exhibit in the Art Asia (Miami) opening on 2nd December 2009.

YI ZHOU
www.yi-yo.net