Through the lens of Taoist philosophy, Keer Zhang’s final project at Central Saint Martins reflects both her artistic development and her dedication to animal welfare. With a focus on ancient Chinese culture and today’s pressing environmental issues, Zhang’s work offers a thoughtful commentary on both myth and reality when it comes to animals. It’s also a snapshot of her evolution as an artist, as she moves from traditional methods to more modern approaches like large-scale installations and animation.

Back in Unit 1, Zhang’s focus was on marine life—particularly the endangered sea turtle. Her animation dove into the stark contrast between the reverence ancient China held for animals, especially the turtle god ‘Xuanwu,’ and the damage caused by modern environmental neglect. The narrative is haunting: a character, after taking sleeping pills, finds themselves transported back to ancient China, where the mistreatment of sea creatures mirrors the cruelty they still face today. Zhang paired this animation with a symbolic installation—plastic balls representing turtle eggs and a harpoon to signify the violence against marine life—pulling the viewer deep into her message of environmental urgency.

It is striking how Zhang, despite being a new animator, chose to leap into the unknown in this early work. Her bold decision speaks volumes about her courage and determination to find new ways to convey her messages. She emphasizes the delicate nature of marine ecosystems through symbols like the sand and plastic eggs in her installation. By producing these works, she calls for human responsibility to protect the planet’s most vulnerable species. She even integrated a black-and-white book she created during a CSM publishing workshop, showcasing her knack for blending different forms of art into a cohesive, multidimensional message.

For her final project, Zhang took a turn from animation and delved into large-scale installations, creating four animal figures: a deer, a goose, a turtle, and a rabbit. These animals weren’t chosen randomly; they’re loaded with Taoist symbolism and represent her deeper dive into Chinese mythology, religion, and environmental themes. Each animal holds a specific place in Taoist beliefs. The deer, a symbol of longevity and good fortune, represents the Taoist ideals of living in harmony with nature, while the rabbit, tied to the moon and immortality, reflects her ongoing fascination with the spiritual connection between humans and animals.
Through these installations, Zhang not only brings these Taoist myths to life but also sheds light on the current crisis facing wildlife. Her sculptures, rich with religious and cultural meaning, extend the conversation to the spiritual and ecological importance of animals today. The turtle, a prominent figure in her earlier work, reappears in her final project, symbolizing the continuous thread of her artistic journey and her unwavering commitment to environmental causes.

In her thesis, Zhang delves into the Taoist portrayal of animals in art, arguing that anthropomorphism is key to understanding their spiritual and cultural roles. In Taoism, animals aren’t just creatures; they’re seen as divine beings with whom humans share a spiritual connection. Zhang connects this idea with modern environmental movements, suggesting that protecting animals is not only a moral responsibility but also a spiritual one. By exploring the symbolic meanings of animals like the dragon and phoenix, she taps into the richness of Chinese heritage while also advocating for real-world conservation.

Zhang’s shift from animation to large-scale installations was a daring move, one that highlights her versatility as an artist. Unlike animation, installations dominate physical space and invite a more immersive, hands-on experience for the viewer. Zhang herself mentions that these installations pushed her to face new technical and material challenges, ultimately leading to personal breakthroughs. The ambitious scale of her final project, which is her largest to date, speaks to this growth.
While Zhang has expressed concerns that her health may prevent her from continuing to create such large-scale works in the future, she remains committed to exploring her core themes: animal protection and Taoist philosophy. She plans to revisit animation and painting, continuing to investigate the intersection between animals, nature, and spirituality. Her constant drive to experiment with new media reflects a restless curiosity that will surely fuel her artistic journey for years to come.

Zhang’s work isn’t just about artistic expression; it’s a passionate call to action. Her projects remind us that art has the power to raise awareness about urgent environmental issues, and her innovative use of multiple mediums brings that message to a broader audience. Whether through animation, books, or large installations, Zhang consistently highlights the need for a balanced relationship with the natural world, blending her love for ancient Chinese culture with her concern for the future of the planet’s wildlife.

In the end, Keer Zhang’s final project represents the culmination of years of artistic exploration and personal growth. By combining traditional Taoist beliefs with modern environmental concerns, she has created a body of work that is not only visually captivating but also deeply thought-provoking. Her ability to seamlessly transition between mediums and engage with complex cultural and ecological themes marks her as an artist whose influence will resonate far beyond her time at Central Saint Martins.

A Playground for All and Body as Vessel, a dual exhibition by Yiran Zhu, combine themes of childlike wonder with a personal exploration of memory and identity in the human body. In addition to challenging traditional patriarchal art canons, Zhu creates spaces where critical reflection and emotion can be expressed through play and embodiment.

Her curatorial approach challenges societal norms that undervalue play and minimize the body’s complexity, instead arguing that both play and complexity help us understand who we are and the world around us.

A Playground for All: Reclaiming Play as Essential

The importance of play—an activity society often teaches us to give up as we grow older—is examined in A Playground for All by Zhu. Through this exhibition, the gallery is transformed into a reflective space where play is reimagined as a path to completeness rather than a regression, based on the notion that play is integral to childhood learning. Zhu’s emphasis on the inner child taps into a universal experience, showing that reconnecting with play can be a powerful way to progress toward wholeness.

The works of Aimilios Metaxas, particularly Sea Urchins and The toys that made us, stand out as thoughtful reflections on the creative child residing in every adult. Metaxas positions play not as a childish act but as a form of creativity, a path to rediscover joy and imagination. His work reframes the inner child as a progressive force that encourages adults to embrace creativity and spontaneity in their everyday lives. This shift challenges societal expectations, reminding us that play has the potential to enhance adult life, fostering creativity, connection, and even healing.

Yuying Song’s installation, inspired by J.R.R. Tolkien’s idea of eucatastrophe, adds a poetic dimension to the exhibition. Within moments of shared play, her work explores the unpredictable nature of life, the fleeting nature of joy, and the presence of doom. By incorporating both individual and collective experiences into Song’s installation, she emphasizes the transient and simultaneous nature of happiness, suggesting that play is more than just an escape, but a profound engagement with life’s complexities.

Similarly, Marisa Polin’s ephemeral sculpture crafted from cardboard and felt reflects the importance of play in shaping how we create and envision the world. Drawing on childhood memories, Polin’s work is not only a reconstruction of the past but a meditation on the act of building and imagining. It suggests that even as adults, we can reclaim the innocence and creativity of childhood, re-envisioning our surroundings with renewed perspective.

The fairytale-like elements in Wuda’s installation The Wondering DREAM, together with Elflock’s whimsical paintings, offer a dreamlike contrast to other works in the exhibition, reinforcing the idea that play is also about imagination and infinite possibility. Both pieces emphasize Zhu’s curatorial intent: play is a way to envision new futures, both personally and collectively.

Body as Vessel: The Body as an Archive

In Body as Vessel, Zhu and her co-curator Yue shift focus from the whimsy of childhood to the complexities of the human body as a repository of identity and memory. Here, the body is explored as a physical site that holds personal and collective histories. Using feminist curatorial methodologies, the exhibition repositions the body as not just a biological entity but a vessel for emotional and cultural experience.

Among the most moving pieces in this exhibition is Nayeon Han’s textiles, which explore miscarriage’s emotional and physical reality. Leaving your trace on the outside world transforms Han’s baby blanket into a powerful symbol of healing and mourning in her work. The dyed and stitched blanket, never to be used for its original purpose, carries the emotional weight of loss, symbolizing the profound connection between mother and child, both physically and spiritually. Her second work, Sprouting, visualizes her belief that her miscarried child will be reborn in a better place, offering a narrative of hope and transformation in the face of grief.

Max Lee’s photographs provide a stark contrast by exploring the queer body as both a material existence and a site of vulnerability. His work interrogates how the body functions as a shield and a point of exposure, particularly within the context of queer identity. Through a focus on movement and time, Lee’s photographs encourage viewers to reflect on the body’s temporality and its role in shaping identity, safety, and belonging.

The dialogue further deepens through Wenyi Qian’s yoga-inspired paintings and Susanne Baumann’s exploration of absence. Qian’s work, rooted in the practice of yoga, becomes a metaphor for the flexibility and resilience of the female body. She shows in her paintings the ongoing negotiation women have with their bodies, highlighting their strength and adaptability. Baumann, on the other hand, deals with the absence of the body as it relates to mental health and personal loss. Informed by her father’s battle with Alzheimer’s, Baumann’s work captures the emotional toll of watching a loved one fade, transforming the body into a site of memory and absence.

In conclusion: Redefining Embodiment and Play

Yiran Zhu masterfully brings together the joy of play and the complexity of the human body through her two exhibitions, A Playground for All and Body as Vessel. By drawing on feminist methodologies, Zhu challenges the patriarchal art canon, centering voices and experiences that are often marginalized or overlooked. Through play and embodiment, Zhu offers new insights into these essential human experiences, showing that art can serve as both a tool for seeing the world and a medium for feeling, healing, and imagining new futures.