bluzoo? who?

BluZoo is an artist collective specializing in video, website design, installation, and new media art. While our members live and work in Japan, China, and the U.S., we collaborate virtually. We bring together a diverse set of training backgrounds, ranging from filmmaking, architecture, literature, philosophy, to computer science. Since its foundation in May 2020, BluZoo has put on two exhibits in Tokyo, and booked three other exhibits in Japan and China.

- all sketches courtesy of Ramona -

Laura

• Living in Tokyo
• Multimedia Artist. Community Activist.
• B.A. Cinema Studies & East Asian Studies, Oberlin College 18’
• I am a multiform artist working in experimental video, documentary, animation, and installation. Often evoking the imageries of childhood, my work brings back uncomfortable and awkward personal experiences that have escaped the order of words. Through art I recreate these haunting moments as shareable narratives and spaces, where the cultural and social structures that produced these discomforts become visible and questionable. Using my personal experience as the portal and with the visceral connection that art innately creates with its audience, I seek to open and foster a dialogue about emotions and stories ; not from an objective distance, but from the understanding and intimacy of shared pain.

Xun

• Living in Guangzhou
• Researcher of film and media.
• B.A. Oberlin College 18’; M.A. Columbia University 20’
• “I studied Japanese and English literature in college and continued to explore the history of Japanese film and media in graduate school. My current research focuses on Japanese television and media theories in the 50s and 60s. I’m interested in understanding different cultural imaginations and discourses surrounding moving-image-based mediums, as well as notions of time, duration, and movement. In my free time I attempt to write stories. The genre of speculative fiction and fantasy, in particular, always strikes me as a powerful form of storytelling that can test the boundary of human imagination and shrewdly redefine our relationship with the world of things around us.”

Angel

• Living in Chicago
• Designer.
• M.S. in Information ‘22, B.S. in Architecture ‘19, University of Michigan
• The most exciting thing I find in design is its capacity to bridge people, things, and events that seem isolated from each other. In 2018, an eye injury defined the beginning of my interest in disability studies and fueled my pursuit in inclusive design. During my fellowship with Myefski Architects in Chicago, I continued to investigate vision-loss-friendly design strategies in built-environments, so that people with sensory impairment can have equal access to information. Currently, I’m pursuing the Master of Science in Information at University of Michigan to study ways of making the benefits of design more available for all. Outside of work, I relax through cooking, hiking, admiring beautiful stuff on instagram, and speed napping.

Ramona

• Living in Shanghai or Boston
• Artist.
• B.A. Engineering Psychology & Philosophy, Tufts University 23’
• People say “huh, what’s Engineering Psychology?” To be honest, I’m not too sure. Currently, it has nothing to do with what I’m doing. I’ve been trying to create things in terms of visual art, music, and words. Sometimes I create things just to make myself happy, and sometimes I create things to make myself and others happy. I also like stories, especially trivial stories that can instantly swing you back to a specific spark of heart tickle, sore eyes, or nostalgia. I write down my own stories, make art and videos based on those stories, and like to listen to others’ stories.

Siyuan

• Living in Tokyo
• Designer. Current Mechanical Engineer.
• B.S. in Architecture ‘19, University of Michigan
• After four years of study in Architectural Design, my interest in design is to reinvent the relationship between creativity, functionality and technology. My experience in computer science and digital fabrication allows me to rethink what technology has brought to the form-making and problem-solving in designing fields. People might wonder why an architecture student with design interest ends up with a mechanical engineering position. I was also confused about my career for a while until I realized my experience as an engineer could provide a new perspective towards design strategies. My current focus is to look for a new design practice that strikes a balance between playfulness in design and constructability in practical.

Echo

• Living in Beijing
• Researcher in Developmental Biology. Writer.
• B.S. in Biology & B.A. in Comparative Literature ‘21, Oberlin College
• Born and raised in Beijing, still trying to see what I can do at the crossroad of science and art. I'm curious about the world and feel confused most of the time. Outside of work, I'm fascinated by horoscope and dangling earrings.

Zion

• Living in Shanghai
• Artist. Designer. Creative Engineer.
• B.S. in Computer Science & B.A. in Dramatic Art ‘21, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
• I was born and raised in Quanzhou, China. I major in Computer Science and Dramatic Art and minor in Studio Art at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. With the experience in art, design, drama, and the internet, I am aspiring to create values through creative storytelling.

Yinuo

• Living in Calgary
• Finance Consultant.
• B.A. Communication Studies, University of Calgary in Alberta 18’
• (busy skiiing; intro coming soon)