Meet Meiqi Zhang | Interdisciplinary Artist & Designer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Meiqi Zhang and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Meiqi, can you tell us more about your background and the role it’s played in shaping who you are today?

I am from China and currently reside in Chicago. I hope that my work can convey certain values, with an emphasis on environmental issues. I’ve been on the go since I was a child (Guangzhou, Canada, Hong Kong, and the US). I had grown up in a concrete and steel city with limited access to nature, so I had a profound appreciation for nature. In recent years, I have had the opportunity to view breathtaking landscapes around the world, which has increased my concern for environmental protection.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?

I met Eduardo Kac for the first time while attending SAIC. He introduced me to the world of Bio Art, which fits in well with my artistic philosophy. During this period, I paid close attention to and studied the different connections between non-humans and humans. The aspect of my work that excites me the most is when others consider the relationship between humans and non-humans.

In recent years, I’ve focused on bacteria and algae, wondering how to leverage their properties to create something that is more eco-friendly. To illustrate the three RGB colors, I utilize the features of Serratia, Escherichia coli, and chlorella algae. Bacteria and algae will be used as the key components to create an eco-friendly film intended to replace certain chemicals in conventional photography.

Currently, I am conducting experiments on relative immobile and mobility in plants from a human standpoint. The research examines fundamental notions of relative stationarity and relative motion: At its heart, the soil is in a “stationary” state, as this is the status quo by default. Polluting the soil creates a new situation for the soil’s “being,” hence generating “motion” compared to the “stationary.” My initiative to plant the seeds constitutes a “point” for each seed. The poisoned soil represents their default status quo or “relative immobile” from this vantage point. In other words, the “point” was unaware of the initial condition of the soil, and the “new state” that the soil knows is therefore the default of the seeds. From this point of view, I am working on new projects.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I will arrange a tour of the botanical gardens, a hike, and visits to the art and history museums. In addition, they visit bars in the evening because bars in a city frequently reflect the attitudes of some locals.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?

I would like to dedicate this shoutout to the multidisciplinary artist Lee Blalock. Lee supported my creative ideas and provided me with a great deal of motivation to move forward. My family also plays an important role in my journey. They have always been at my back.

Website: https://thismeiko.github.io/Portfolio/MeiqiZhangProjects.html

Instagram: meiqizhang.studio