Yuge Zhou: Uncovering forgotten stories of Chinese immigrants

Yuge Zhou, a Chinese-born, Chicago-based video artist, has long explored themes of rootedness, longing, and the transient nature of human connections across constructed and natural spaces. Her recent works have taken a political turn, highlighting overlooked moments in Asian American history, including stories like Afong Moy, the first recognized Chinese woman in America. In this interview, Zhou shares how her immigration experience has influenced her direction as an artist.

From large-scale installations to intimate films like Moon Drawings, Zhou’s works capture the complexities of identity and belonging. As the curator of Chicago’s 150 Media Stream, Zhou contemplates on the intersection of cultural histories and personal experiences.

With projects ranging from documenting the Chinese laborers who built the transcontinental railroad to showing the quiet isolation of the pandemic, Zhou’s works offer a distinctive perspective on the connections between individual and collective stories. In this conversation, she discusses her ongoing projects and her experience working across two cultures.

You mentioned that your recent work has taken a more personal and political turn, especially as you explore overlooked moments in Asian American history. Could you share how your own immigration experience has shaped this shift in your work?

Yuge Zhou: Having moved from China to America when I was a young adult left me with a longing for a sense of rootedness. Earlier this year, after 16 years of being in this country, my permanent residency status was finally approved. Going through this challenging legal process has inspired a new direction in my work, focusing on the broader history of the Chinese community in America. I’m working on a series of 16mm short films entitled “The Chinese Lady,” uncovering the stories of Chinese women embedded in American history. The first film tells the story of Afong Moy, the first recognized Chinese woman to arrive in America in 1834. Moy was displayed throughout the United States as part of a marketing campaign of oriental goods for the next 17 years after which time records of her disappeared.

In your recent work, you’ve moved toward a minimal approach in comparison to your previous use of fragmentation. What initiated this transition in your visual language? How does it change the way you explore themes of isolation and connection?

Yuge Zhou: It’s more concept-driven. A lot of my past work foregrounded simultaneous events and relationships. My recent work has a more linear, singular thread. In the “Moon Drawings” series, this manifests through the passage of seasons, while In “The Chinese Lady,” Afong Moy’s story unfolded through the symbolic transformation of a ginkgo tree, intertwined with archival press excerpts from the era. 

The project “Project Unity: Ten Miles of Track in One Day” memorializes Chinese immigrant laborers who built the transcontinental railroad. How did you go about tracing this neglected part of history? What was the most surprising discovery during your research?

Yuge Zhou: The entire process took a few months, with my primary source being the Chinese Railroad Workers in North America Project at Stanford University, led by Professor Gordon Chang. Professor Chang also recommended his book “Ghosts of Gold Mountain” to me. His team uncovered numerous payroll documents of the Chinese workers, though many of the workers’ names were anglicized, often reduced to generic names like John Chan or simply “Chinaman,”’ erasing their real identities. In the end, we could find only a small fraction of their birth names. The more I delve into this chapter of American history, the more I realize that it’s not just about the story of early Chinese immigrants—it’s a human story. For me, it’s important to tell these stories.

You’ve explored rootedness and longing through constructed and natural spaces. How has your experience living between China and the US influenced your perspective on these topics?

Yuge Zhou: I’ve often been told that I’m too Chinese to be American and too American to be Chinese. What is interesting after all these years is that I feel like the in-between is where I am, and both countries are my home. I will always exist in these two cultures as both an outsider and an insider.

In “Moon Drawings”, you combine the imagery of a snow-covered parking lot with reflections of the moon, which prompts a sense of separation from your family during the pandemic. Could you talk about how this personal narrative emerged in your work and how it contrasts with your previous, more observational pieces?

Yuge Zhou: In traditional Chinese culture, the moon is a carrier of human emotions. The full moon symbolizes family reunion. It was the first visible object of worship to the most ancient ancestors of the Chinese. I remember my mother telling me many bedtime stories and folktales about the moon when I was a little girl. One of them is about the Han dynasty emperor Wu Di. Yearning for his lost love, Wu Di had a terrace built in his palace park, which he named Fu Yue Tai 俯月台, which means “for viewing the moon from above.” To be viewed “from above,” the moon had to be reflected in water, so the emperor added a lake at the foot of the terrace.

I often think about this ancient story when the moon rises above my bedroom window in Chicago. Even though it happened thousands of years ago, the experiences of longing are universal across time-space and history, regardless of whether you are a mighty emperor of a kingdom or a homesick immigrant in a foreign land. The snow-covered parking lot adjacent to my high-rise apartment building is like the lake “reflecting” the moon in the sky, and it gives me the perfect stage to create the project. 

As the curator for the 150 Media Stream installation in Chicago, you’ve worked with over 50 media artists, including names like Bisa Butler. How does your curatorial role inform your practice as an artist? Do you find that it influences your work, or do you see these two roles as distinct?

Yuge Zhou: 150 Media Stream is a uniquely structured public digital art installation. Since its launch in 2017, one of the core missions of our program has been to create a cultural space and to engage a cross-section of diverse communities. One thing I notice and appreciate is the incredible energy and curiosity people have for art. This curatorial position puts me in touch with communities that have very different views about art-making, from engineers, developers, and architects to financiers and lawyers, and that certainly influenced me as an artist. 

Your work often involves collaging observational footage and creating what you’ve called “micro-narratives.” How do you decide which moments of human interaction or landscape to capture? Is there an underlying philosophy steering your choices?

Yuge Zhou: Throughout the years, I’ve come to realize that the notion of Yuan 缘 has appeared often in my work: the fated, chance encounter; the beauty and ephemerality of that connection. Since I’ve moved around so much, relationships were formed and drifted away. However big or small these imprints were, I could always find poetry in the fact that the universe creates beautiful intersections between stories and lives. 

Looking ahead, can you share what’s next for you? Are there any upcoming projects you’re excited about?

Yuge Zhou: I’m currently in the final production of the “Chinese Lady: Afong Moy” and doing research on the second film in this series that explores the story of the Chinese-born American writer Eileen Chang. I’m also working on a personal film about cross-cultural identity that involves a community of my closest friends.