Meet Zemo Zheng | Virtual Tech Artist & Art Director

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

Hi Zemo, how has your work-life balance changed over time?
Me being me, it’s hard to maintain a work life balance, because I would always prioritize work over my personal life. It can get really exhausting at some point, where I am not eating well or sleeping well; basically compromising my health to reach my career goals. My habit and my mentality towards work life balance has changed a lot over the time, even now, I wouldn’t say I am 100% maintaining a perfect balance between the two, but I do think I am starting to become more and more aware of obtaining a healthier schedule is essential to my success. I think one of the reasons I didn’t have a good balance is that I saw work and life as two separate things. I saw them as counter parts in which if one is more dominant, the other one has to be sacrificed. However, now, this perspective has begun to shift. I realize more and more, especially talking to other successful entrepreneurs about it, that work is just part of living the life that I wanted. More importantly, if you are not taking the “life” part of the life more seriously, for example your health, it’s impossible to succeed in work in the long term.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Starting this year, because of all the emerging technologies, I founded my company, Seemingly Virtual LLC, which focuses on virtual production. Our mission is to incorporate the newest tech, AR, VR, AI, into the traditional production practices to innovate, making visuals that are surreal yet tangible. With the help of an awesome team, I was able to create surreally beautiful visuals, that were actually in an art exhibition just a few months ago. The art piece exhibited was called “CLAIRVOYEUR”. Penetrating the realms of privacy through the lens of a people, security cameras, or VR goggles, CLAIRVOYEUR exposes the myriad moments and emotions typically reserved for the eyes of the self alone. It magnifies the candid, bringing to light an intricate tapestry of emotions, struggles, and desires that dwell behind closed doors. The meticulously crafted scenes, laden with dramatized and exaggerated environments, serve not just as a backdrop but as sentient extensions of the individuals who inhabit them.

We had really positive response from the viewers who attended the gallery show, a lot of people told us it was really immersive and were really impressed by the level of details in the visual production. That is also the future direction our company is heading to, providing immersive experiences for everyone everywhere.

I am most excited about the ripple effect that this gallery show had started, now we are going to Art Basal because we have a couple of artworks exhibiting there, and also I have a solo show coming in the new year 2024! So, stay tuned a lot of things happening soon!

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.
The go to spot I show all my friends who are not from LA is Hauser and Wirth in the Arts District in DTLA. It has all my faves, great art exhibitions, hidden gem book stores, and a great restaurant in there. I always have so much fun just wandering around in that area. There is also a great handroll place across the street called Yunomi, I never miss a chance to go there for lunch. I’d also bring people to Melrose posting trade/vintage markets on Melrose. Maybe I don’t buy things everytime I go there, but I sure enjoy just browsing around for cool little things.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I have been extremely lucky to have a tight circle of friends and allies who support me along the way. I feel like these sincere relationships are hard to come by. Of course I am very thankful to my business partner, Jonathan Warner, who not only supply the skills that I need, but also an integral part of our company when it comes to decision making. Many times he sees what I cannot see, and vice versa, but that is also what makes our partnership great. I also think I learned a lot from my friend Taye Cuui, who is a great producer in the entertainment industry. We recently just attended the first SAIFF red carpet event together. She is a great friend of mine, and also is someone I have partnered up in so many different projects together, and who is always looking out for me. I learn a lot from the people that I do business with, not just their hard skills but also their endurance, persistence, and drive. My friend Anatola is also wonderful tech artist who uses AI to create beautiful films. We have so many creative ventures together and will have more to come in the future as well!

Instagram: instagram.com/zemovisuals

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zhenze-zheng/

Image Credits
Zemo Zheng Jonathan Warner Ezenwa Ilabor Jessica Robertson Eliza Roswell Jingyao Wang Anatola Araba