BIOGRAPHY
Hanxuan Jiang （Sophie）
Artist, Filmmaker, Tutor of Shanghai Academy of Fine Arts, Shanghai University
Holder of dual master’s degrees from the University of Oxford and the Royal College of Art. She is a member of the Partisan Social Club and a committee member of the Global Exchanges, Oxford. Award winner of the "Luo Bonian Photographer Award" at the 2024 Three Shadows Photography Award (TSPA), Silver Award at the 2023 London Film Awards, and "Best Experimental Film Award" at the 2020 Alternative Film Festival (ALTFF).
Solo exhibitions include "Daydreaming" (E.SCAPE Art Space, Shanghai, 2023), "Public Intimacy" (Dyson Gallery, Royal College of Art, London, 2020), and “The Nearest Distance" (Three Shadows Xiamen Photography Art Centre, 2019). Group exhibitions include the 2024 Three Shadows Photography Award, 2023 Chengdu International Photography Week, 2019 Coventry Biennial, 2019 Florence Biennale of Contemporary Art, 2019 Beijing International Art Biennale, 2019 Pingyao International Photography Festival, Chengdu Creative Design Week, Xin Feng Project, Tank Art Festival, Wandsworth Arts Fringe Festival, etc. Her films have been featured at the European Short Film Festival, London Independent Film Festival, NOWNESS Short Film Talent Awards, 9th International Video Poetry Festival, Manchester International Experimental Film Festival, Miami Independent Film Festival, and more. Her works have been exhibited and Screened at venues such as Modern Art Oxford, CICA Museum, Beaconsfield Contemporary Art, Chicago Filmmakers, West Bund Art Centre, Harrow Arts Centre, National Art Museum of China, Chi K11 Art Museum, ZheJiang Art Museum, Chengdu Contemporary Image Museum, A.K.T_Pforzheim, Musée d'Art et d'Histoire, Close-Up Cinema, and other independent art cinemas, as well as on the UK Film Channel.
In 2023, she participated in an art exchange in Manchester as part of a delegation of Chinese artists (organized by esea contemporary and the British Council). Her residency program include A4 Residency Art Center Program, Baltic Analog Lab, AURUA, and residency.ch at the PROGR Art Centre (Switzerland, Upcoming).
ARTIST STATEMENT
Humans navigate diverse cultural contexts, leading to decentralized, fluid lives. My art explores how we form sincere connections and understand ourselves and others in this 'post-society.' I contemplate how to poetically represent these abstract emotions and subtle sentiments in imagery. Emotional experiences, whether deep connections in intimate relationships or casual encounters in daily life, my practice challenge our understanding of traditional relationships and redefine our social boundaries and ways of interaction.
My attention is on the collision and fusion of shared and different identities and cultural concepts across individuals, as well as the role of everyday conversations in interpersonal relationships, such as interactions in intimate friendships or emotional sharing in the kitchen. Improvised conversations are always fluid and broad, covering various topics in sociology, anthropology, and philosophy. I position myself as an observer participating in these, delving into people's behaviours, communications, and dialogues, attempting to decipher the construction process of these emotional ties and authentic micro-communities. I focus on individuals and groups with whom I have real interactions in daily life, trying to truly understand others.
Using cameras, food, and poems, I facilitate dialogue and deeper relationships, linking personal emotions to broader societal themes. Trust is pivotal in my participatory imagery approach, encouraging subjects to express themselves openly in the creative process. My filming goes beyond documenting moments; it's a way to foster genuine interactions. I seek a profound understanding of belonging and happiness, using imagery to explore personal existence and relationships. Holding a 16mm camera, I embrace my role as a dream maker.
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2023 Daydreaming, E.SCAPE Art Space, Shanghai, China
2023 Manufacturer of Dreams, ACENTRICSPACE, Shanghai, China
2020 Public Intimacy, Royal College of Art Dyson Gallery, London, United Kingdom
2019 The Nearest Distance, Three shadows Xiamen Photography Art Center, Xiamen, China
GROUP EXHIBITIONS AND FILM FESTIVALS
2024 Title TBC, Musée d'art et d’histoire, Paris, France (Upcoming)
2024 13st Three Shadows Photography Award, Xian, China (Upcoming)
2024 Screener Short Film Festival, London, United Kingdom (Upcoming)
2024 Ausstellung "Parad" Eyes "Fractal Odyssey", A.K.T_Pforzheim, Germany
2024 13st Three Shadows Photography Award, Beijing, China
2024 abC Art Fair, Chengdu, China
2024 Chengdu International Photography Week, Chengdu, China
2023 Chengdu Creative Design Week, Chengdu, China
2023 Post-hippie: Playfulness Amidst, Shanghai, China
2023 An Encounter, A Daydream, A4 International Residency Art Center, Chengdu, China
2023 The Bitten Peach: Decolonizing Queer Asians, Vancouver, Canada
2023 The Bitten Peach: Asian Queer Spaces, Vancouver, Canada
2023 London Film Awards, Silver Award, London, United Kingdom
2023 Tokyo Lift-off Film Festival, Tokyo, Japan
2023 …Like Clockwork, Chicago Filmmaker, Chicago, USA
2022 Awakening Voices, Paris, France
2021 Tank Art Festival, Shanghai, China
2021 Flickfair Film Festival, Los Angeles, USA
2021 Pause, London, United Kingdom
2021 Ruskin Shorts, Oxford Modern Art Museum, Oxford, United Kingdom
2021 9th International Video Poetry Festival, Athens, Greece
2020 European Short Film Festival, Online (Original place: Berlin)
2020 Southampton Film Festival, Online (Original place: Southampton)
2020 Shanghai West Bond Art Center, Shanghai, China
2020 Wide Out Video Festival, Taipei, Taiwan
2020 London Independent Film Festival (LIFF), London, United Kingdom
2020 Manchester Experimental Film Festival (MANIFF), Manchester, United Kingdom
2020 Miami Independent Film Festival, Miami, United State
2019 12th Florence Contemporary art Biennial, Florence, Italy
2019 2019 Coventry Biennial, Coventry, United Kingdom
2019 2019 Beijing Biennial Exhibition, National Art Museum of China, Beijing, China
2019 1st NOWNESS Talent Program, K11 Museum, Shanghai, China
2019 2019 Form, CICA Museum, Korea
2019 Ink Art Week Brussel, ULB Museum, Brussel, Belgium
2019 -Scapes, PH21 Gallery, Budapest, Hungary
2019 Wandsworth Arts Fringe, Battersea Park, London, United Kingdom
2019 Stages of Life, Harrow Arts Center, London, United Kingdom
2019 Backward Reading, 508 Gallery, London, United Kingdom
2018 Artists Cultivating Programme, Zhejiang Exhibition Museum, Hangzhou, China
2018 The Partisan Social Club Project, Beaconsfield Gallery Vauxhall, London, United Kingdom (Collaborative work - Socially Engaged Art)
2018 Young Artists Selected Exhibition, Zhejiang Art Museum, Hangzhou, United Kingdom
2017 The Theme about HongKong Exhibition, National Art Museum of China, Beijing, China
2017 No-boundaries International Art Exhibition, Columbia Global Centers, Beijing, China
2017 Selected works of Famous Artists, Museum of People’s Daily, Beijing, China
2016 Experimental Short Film Screening, UCLA, Los angles, America
2016 Selected Young Artists Exhibition, Zhejiang Art Museum, Hangzhou, China
AWARDS
2024 13st Three Shadows Photography Award Winner - Luo Bonian Photographer Award, Beijing, China
2022 Moving Image ‘The Cannel between the East and the West' was awarded by Awakening Voices art exhibition as ‘Best Moving Image’ category (Award Winner)
2020 Moving Image 'Flowing into the Whispering River' was awarded by 2020 ALTFF Alternative Film Festival as 'Best Experimental International’ category (Award Winner)
2019 She was named as one of the outstanding young artists in China (100 artists in total)
2019 Public art conception was selected by Beijing Daxing International Airport, China
2017 Painting ‘HongKong island story’ was collected by National Art Museum of China
RECEIDENCY PROGRAMS
2024 residency.ch at the PROGR Art Centre, Bern, Switzerland (Upcoming)
2023 A4 Residency Art Center, A4 Art Museum, Chengdu, China
2023 Reconnecting, Artmaking and Mobility, Supported by esea contemporary and British Council, Manchester, UK
2023 Sugar house (AURUA), Yangshuo, China
2023 ACENTRICSPACE, Shanghai, China
2019 Baltic Analog Lab, Photography and film residency program, Riga, Latvia