Hugh Zichuan Chen

About

Hugh Zichuan Chen is an experimental knitting designer focused on emotional experiences.

In an era driven by technology and information overload, he is dedicated to revealing how personal emotions evolve with external stimuli and expressing this complex interaction through various art forms. Hugh aims to create a personal visual language system by combining experimental knitting with modern technology, reflecting his core values and resonating with his community and target audience.

In this project, Hugh’s work emphasizes the relationship between personal emotional experiences and external identities, particularly how to balance these opposing yet interdependent forces in modern society. This is not only a journey of self-exploration but also a response to contemporary social and cultural issues, aiming to provoke reflections on self and society through artistic expression.

“At birth, my inner self is pure and unblemished. Over time, these emotions evolve from an embryonic state into the shape of an ox, reflecting my Chinese zodiac sign. I believe my zodiac sign, present since birth, is deeply connected to my soul and emotions. In my work, use domestic knitting machines combined with soft plant fibers to represent garments.

As I grew, my inner self became increasingly polluted and constrained by the external world. I realized I could not freely express my truest feelings. The true self created various external identities to better integrate into society. But are these external identities still the real me? They protect me like a shell but also constrain me like a cocoon.

I created the contours of my sculpture by scanning my four daily identities, drawing inspiration for its texture from tree bark. There is a saying in China: “A person is like a tree; even with an empty heart, it can still stand tall.” Living in this society, I continuously create and refine my external identities to better integrate into various social groups. But am I still the same person I once was? I feel that a part of my inner self is dead and hollow, leaving behind only an empty shell.

The relationship between “external identity” and “inner self” is akin to the Chinese concept of “Yin and Yang.” Yin and Yang posits that all things and phenomena in the world are both opposing and interdependent, forming a dynamic balance. In contemporary society, we are like blind people, groping our way through the interplay of emotions and identities, perhaps needing to find a dynamic balance in our own state.”