91. ZHEKUN WANG: A SPACE BETWEEN MIND AND MATTER.
‘When I play music… sometimes I like to drag a pause… breathe a bit more… I think in some pauses, there’s a lot to reflect upon. Music is very good for that. It creates the perfect space for you to imagine, to contemplate, to feel, to anticipate, and sometimes even to fear.’ Z.W.
Zhekun Wang, ‘Water Plants’, July 2019, Margate. Image courtesy of the artist.
The first conversation we had was about impressionism and the notion of translating emotion through different media. I remember learning from you about how Chopin was using notes in a connected way to how the impressionists were using paint... and that idea was radical to me…
I’m glad you recall this previously discussed connection between music and emotion in the context of impression. During the Romantic period in music, many musicians, including Chopin, composed with deep emotion poured into their pieces. These complex emotions were expressed through various elements such as musical arrangements, technicalities, and sometimes even lyrics. However, in Chopin’s compositions specifically, I sense an impressionistic quality that reminds me of early 1900s Impressionist paintings. This intrigues me because these two distinct art forms seem to emotionally paint, to some degree, the same kind of image.
Chopin’s compositions are known for their poetic nature and the way passages are arranged. For instance, in one of his ballads, you might find yourself sulking over a forlorn lullaby one moment, only to be transported to a jumpy Minute Waltz the next — and the transition feels seamless. What’s fascinating is the lack of a defined boundary between these passages. They all interflow organically, like an arm growing naturally from a shoulder.
This idea of interflow connects to the way Impressionist painters use colour strokes. There are no defined lines, only blocks of colour layered to form an image. These paintings capture the atmosphere rather than specific silhouettes. That’s the same emotional quality I experience when listening to Chopin’s pieces.
For your MA - you studied fashion design and yet you did not make clothes despite a background in pattern cutting, you work in gaming design... what do you feel are the linking skills you have learned to realise your instincts?
I think both practices are designed around the idea of the body. One physical and one digital. In gaming, I am specifically attracted to designing environment art. Making garments provides a bodily experience with clothes, while in gaming, it is the environment that contributes to the player’s bodily experience. It’s the level design and set dressing that make the player feel transformed within the game. I really enjoy that.
That is also the link between the two skills I have learned. Additionally, when making clothes, as you mentioned, pattern cutting is a craft, a process of shaping an object with paper and fabric in 3D space. This skill of 3D modeling, creating forms and shapes, directly translates to the making of game assets.
I think of those specific shades of red and blue when I think of your work, how you distilled such concentrated depth of feeling within them... can you contemplate what they mean to you now?
I link Klein blue to what Derek Jarman’s said about colour. It is a colour of hope. And I think it’s a really positive message. The red was inspired by Almodovar’s film Volver, and a few others that feature this scarlet red quite a lot. It’s passionate, strong, masculine, sexy, and humorous sometimes.
Zhekun Wang, ‘Stratus’, December 2021, London. Image courtesy of the artist.
The mood of science fiction holds a certain poise within your work - the sense of space - and the feeling of suspension - and the connection to how you play the piano - how the notes are suspended....
I think leaving some space between things is a good practice in life in general hehe. At least, that’s how I feel for now. I like science fiction because it always carries that feeling of possibility and space in between. Also, there’s a sense of isolation — or maybe solitude.
When I play music, sometimes I like to drag a pause a bit longer, breathe a bit more. I think in some pauses, there’s a lot to reflect upon. Music is very good for that. It creates the perfect space for you to imagine, to contemplate, to feel, to anticipate, and sometimes even to fear.
Chopin, Debussy, Ravel, Borodin, Prokofiev, Rachmaninoff—almost all classical composers include, in their pieces, moments to catch a breath. Oh, maybe not Beethoven, because he’s quite intense. I love him for a different reason.
I think suspending a few notes is always more interesting than playing them all in a single breath.
There is much fear surrounding AI and how it will affect the creative industries - what is your view on this?
From personal experience, AI has been helpful so far. However, I work in creative tech rather than programming or research so to some extent it isn’t that much of a direct connection. It is the secondary product. I don’t think people need to be scared by AI in this industry. It’s just a tool for making things easier. It creates “new” things because it just works faster for the same results. I think the core part of it cannot be replaced by AI, especially in art and creative work. For example, I recently watched ‘Arcane’ Season 2 - all the environments inside are hand-painted. AI is not responsible for this. The composition, the colours, the music, the dialogues between characters… It is just one example that great artwork still needs a lot of human-ness. And with the booming of AI, I think it really makes the creative industry even more important than ever before.
Zhekun Wang, September 2023, Taklamakan Desert, image courtesy of the artist.