Artist Statement V1

In my computer art, I aim to explore what is considered unconventional, seeking to alter the aura of the quotidian. I look for volatile elements to incorporate into my art. My art reflects my excitement, expressed through vibrant colors. My works' visual forms depart from and return to the basic shapes of computer graphics: lines, circles, triangles, and rectangles. My virtual works rely on screens and projectors, which emit light. I consider these creations as works of light. Occasionally, my virtual pieces assume sculptural forms through the use of 3D printers.

The question, "What does it mean to be a gay Chinese media artist?" is central to my art practice. Additionally, my work comments on the inner workings of AI, the defining technology of our age, while applying it creatively.

Artist Statement V2

My new media art practice has evolved through two phases. From 2017 to 2022, I explored Western queer culture, including themes of dating, sexuality, stigmatization, liberation, love, loneliness, HIV/STIs, and queer temporality. Since 2022, my focus shifted to gay Chinese cultural heritage, combining game design and generative art with premodern Chinese literature and culture.

Technology is central to my new media art, serving as a tool, medium, material, and method, integrated with conceptual, aesthetic, and philosophical aspects. My generative art (screens, projections, 3D prints) and artist games utilize programming for visuals, interaction, and sound. Aesthetics are influenced by computer graphics, using basic shapes and RGB colors. Mathematical concepts are visually translated through algorithms. My art and mathematics share a core methodology: observing and modeling the world to build interacting systems. I also critically investigate AI's internal mechanisms through art. The agency of technology, randomness, and emergent behaviors shape my art philosophy, resulting in fluid, non-deterministic art grounded in computer technology, embracing endless parallel universes.

Bio

TC Zhou is a computational media artist of Asian descent. He combines generative art with gay literature written in literary Chinese. Blending programming and natural languages (in both Chinese and English), he creates generative art that is immersive and interactive. His work is driven by machine intelligence, producing parallel universes. In addition, TC Zhou creates experimental queer games that explore queer lives. TC Zhou's games draw on his own experiences and have covered topics such as queer temporality, sex education, gay liberation, destigmatization, and the human sexuality spectrum. TC Zhou received an Master of Fine Arts in media arts from UCLA and an undergraduate degree from NYU. His work was supported by Points Center (Suzhou), shown at V2_ lab (Rotterdam), SIGGRAPH DAC (Digital Arts Community), SIGGRAPH Art Paper (Denver 2024), Top Art Space (Guangzhou), The Broad Art Center at UCLA, UCLA Queer Graduate Research Conference (2022 & 2023), Spectra Studio (LA) and Art Machines 2 (CityU Hong Kong).

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