Yingshan Zhang

About

Yingshan Zhang studied Exhibition Design during her undergraduate years. Due to her passion for narrative architectural media, she chose to pursue a Master’s degree in City Design at the Royal College of Art. Additionally, she joined the Underground Palestine Studio, where she conducted research on the Palestinian city of Jericho during her master’s studies.

During her Master’s, her team dedicated themselves to researching topics related to entertainment and cultural perception in Jericho. In Term 1, she focused on the utopian zone of Jericho, Palestine—Oasis Casino. The Oasis Casino was the first major cross-border development project involving Israel, the Palestinian Authority, and Jordan since 1993.

In Term 2, she explored the narrative comparison of water resources between Palestine and Jordan’s ancient city of Petra. They presented the stories of water resources in both areas through an insert stage design. Given the preciousness of water in these regions, they discovered fairy tales about women and spring deities in Jericho and historical stories of Petra through their research. These stories, rooted in local memories, form a significant part of community identity and culture, evoking a strong sense of belonging. Ultimately, they showcased the changing narrative of the same area over time through the stage presentation, highlighting the historical significance of water and its impact on transforming barren regions into vibrant areas.

In Term 3, she researched cultural biases regarding Jericho from an external perspective. Due to differences in life backgrounds, tourists often have varied subjective perceptions and cultural biases about the same location. The design used virtual reality technology to showcase different travelers’ perceptions and memories of Jericho, extracting their subjective descriptions of the place. By incorporating local architectural elements and meticulously crafted images, a conceptual scene was assembled to present Jericho from various travelers’ perspectives. Key material elements were extracted from these scenes and transformed into physical models, creating an interactive combination of virtual and real experiences for the audience, promoting a more equitable social dialogue.