Huiyan Zhang

My work is based on my passion for nature and my experience of walking in the forest, which makes me interested in the entanglements of nature, the biology of plant forms, and microscopic sights—especially fungi—and their relationship with human experience. This exploration leads me to delve into concepts of loss and rebirth, decay and regrowth.

Going into nature and using photography, video and drawing to bring out the various forms in nature, and then bringing them into the printmaking process. I also take inspiration from existing photos, such as images of fungi captured through a microscopic lens. Accident and experimentation are indispensable in creating my work, and I appreciate the unpredictability these images bring to my work. Also, I allowed my drawings to go through a process, transformed them with different materials and surfaced to explore and combine them into new images. I usually like to create the image first, and then develop it and give it the direction I want to go in based on the effects of my experiments.

A key reference for me was the writing of Merlin Sheldrake, and the title of my current artwork is taken directly from the title of his book. He explores the significance of fungi and their connection to the human experience. Additionally, Wim van Egmond's macro photography series, where he presents microorganisms and other seemingly inconspicuous life forms through an extreme close-up perspective, got me thinking about the entanglement of nature and human life, as well as its rebirth and regeneration. I want to explore and present the different forms of life in nature and the effects of the environment on them through a scientific lens.