Meet Zhiwen (Esther) Tang | Illustrator and designer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Zhiwen (Esther) Tang and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Zhiwen (Esther), what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
When I was young, I liked to use crayons to keep a record about the things I saw and did every day. These colors and lines are the perfect medium for me to express myself. I enjoy drawing so much that I consider it a gift that allows me to communicate with the outside world. As I grew older, I had more and more opinions about what was going on in society, so I decided to focus on creating narrative and educational illustrations to express those ideas. In my artistic practice, I pushed myself to create artworks with socially relevant themes like politics, sexuality, and culture. I became interested in presenting social issues through the arts and had a wonderful feeling of accomplishment when I did so. I raise and consider these issues with the audience through my artwork because I am curious. For instance, the premise of my artwork series “Backyard” is emotional reconciliation and mental recovery. I’m hoping that by using this graphic, people will be able to disconnect from the internet and discover their true selves. I get the motivation to pursue my artistic career through a range of works like this, and as a generation Z artist, I’m keen to develop my artistic ideas on social concerns.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
As an illustrator, developing my own unique style took a lot of hard work and effort on my part. My primary obstacle and concern in the past was figuring out how established artists come up with their distinctive artistic approaches. I couldn’t stop thinking about this question and spent years attempting to find my style by researching a wide variety of subjects, methods, and types of art. As time went on, I became aware of the subjects that aroused my attention, the styles in which I excelled, and the aesthetic voices that I aspired to convey via my work. Looking back, I can easily see how many projects helped to shape my style. I gained the perseverance and drive to continually explore new themes and concepts in my artwork through this method. I have investigated various creative projects on the idea that illustration might provide the audience a message of empowerment. The Lunar Dinosaur Fantasy World is the project that means the most to me among all of my artistic endeavors. I understood that knowledge frequently places boundaries on imagination. People frequently make claims that are false in reality and refuse to believe in things they haven’t seen. In the Dinosaur series, I pushed this boundary and completely depended on my imagination to conjure up a lunar dinosaur planet. In the same way that picture books inspired me as a youngster, I hope that this work will encourage readers to continue to be imaginative and creative about things they haven’t seen or verified while learning about and accepting science.

My inspiration is also found in daily life. I’ve witnessed uncertainty and resilience in our community, most recently during the pandemic. I made art with the intention of calming the audience and touching on the mental health of our neighborhood. What excites me is the possibility that others can connect with my artwork and find strength and joy in the meaning I conveyed through my drawings. I feel more motivated to create more art in the future with this in mind.

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 would recommend beginning the day by watching the sun rise over the Brooklyn Bridge while sipping coffee and feeling the salty sea breeze. Recently, the morning has gotten later, so now is the ideal time to catch up. I would then recommend taking a tour of Washington Square. There are numerous musicians, sunbathers, performers, and students from New York. You can go around to find some neighboring thrift stores, milk tea businesses, and bookshops. After purchasing a puff pastry and cheesecake from Korean Town’s Keki Cake (their cheesecake is the greatest), the perfect place for lunch would be Izakaya Mew. Every main meal they serve is delicious and always worth the price. I’d advise avoiding Time Square as we make our way uptown because of all the visitors. Instead, head over to Bryan Park to check out the ice-skating rink. After leaving, sit down somewhere in Central Park to watch the sun go down. I’d suggest going to the Heidelberg Restaurant uptown for dinner if you want to end the day with a fantastic German roast pig knuckle, sauerkraut, and sausages.

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’ll start with my mother. She is the one that supports and appreciates all of my artwork the most. My self-confidence grows as a result of her trust, which also grants me the freedom to pursue my goals. She constantly encourages me to maintain my sense of wonder and excitement for life, which is evident in a lot of my artwork because many of them are brimming with optimism and vigor.

I am also very appreciative of my college professors who helped me along the way. Their feedback was the most useful experience I had as a student and continues to influence my artistic career today.

The Jimmy Liao children’s books are the other thing that has had the biggest impact on me. The Blue Stone by Jimmy Liao was the first children’s book I ever read, and I’m inspired to pursue my own artistic endeavors by his creativity and storytelling skills in his illustrations.

Website: https://esthertangarts.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/esthertang0719/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zhiwen-tang-39363817b/