ARTIST STATEMENT
Grace, Orchid continues my exploration of intergenerational relationships and personal memory, focusing on the evolving bond between my mother, 从容 Congrong (“Grace”), and my grandmother, 兰 Lan (“Orchid”). After my grandfather—the patriarch of our family—passed away, and our village was demolished, the dynamic between them subtly shifted. I felt a complex mixture of emotions: grief over shared memories, the loss of a familiar place, and the ambiguity of family bonds. I was reminded of the intergenerational trauma happened in the family. Yet rather than portraying these women solely as victims or attempting to re-empower them through photography, I wanted to capture their emotions with greater nuance. I returned to family imagery and became interested in how trauma both distances and reconnects women.
I revisited the remnants of the village and family home—though they are no longer what they once were. I brought the photographs I had taken of the old house, printing them onto fabric to create fragments of shared memory. Through everyday and unspoken interactions, I witnessed their bond transform. Trauma is no longer the sole defining force; it has softened into a relationship marked by interdependence, understanding, and compassion. Grace, Orchid is not just about mourning or loss—it is about witnessing how intimacy can quietly survive through silence, pain, and time. I hope to show how, despite enduring generational oppression, these women find a connection that transcends trauma.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Shuyuan Zhou (she/her, b.2001) is a lens-based artist and poet currently based in Chicago. Her work critically examines patriarchal structures in East Asian societies, engaging with themes such as intergenerational trauma and domestic violence. Her recent projects explore nostalgia, immigrant identity, and the emotional residue of familial and cultural displacement.
Born and raised in China, Zhou holds a B.A. from Duke University. She is currently pursuing her MFA in Photography at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where she was awarded the New Artist Society Scholarship. Her work has been exhibited at EXPO CHICAGO, Atlanta Photography Group, and the Center for Photographic Art, among others. She was named one of the Top 25 in the 2024 Lenscratch Student Prize and is also a recipient of the Shirley Graham and W.E.B. Du Bois Award.
© Shuyuan Zhou