Zoey Lin

Originally from Taiwan, I began as a fine artist investigating realism in painting and drawing. My work has evolved into multimedia works examining the existence of matter and the tension between the perceived “surface layer” and an imagined “flowing underlying layer.” I examine this tension in diverse subject matter utilizing collaged physical everyday objects and organic textures. Six years ago, observing and shooting mold growing on a wall day by day, I observed the decaying process via time, environment, and human factors. Wall mold grows, decomposes and proliferates in a similar way to more highly evolved creatures. By analyzing the conditions and the motion and comparing it to biological evolution, “Step by Step” (Stop motion, 2012) became the pilot animated film for three animation installation pieces in 2013-2014: “Semi-liquid Space”, “Breeding Ground” and “Fish-Bird Community”. These three pieces contained imaginative organic design that evolved in three different manners: living characteristics, sociological metaphor, and exploration of techniques intended to visualize the growth of the mold. I am interested in the duality of what you see versus what lies underneath.

I haven’t had my own company or design studio. But I do have plan for initiating my own brand and studio soon. It’s first going to be a brand/studio that can work closely with other fashion or accessories brands for creating contents like assemblage artwork, animation, mixed-media, interactive works, etc. by utilizing their products. And for later phase, I do wish to expand my brand into the scope that can produce and design transdisciplinary projects.

For me design is transferring imagination and inspiration into reality or visual experience. In other words, it’s a process of sculpting ideas which requires to put multiple layers of ideation together and later trim them down to accomplish the best interpretation.

Site-specific installation, multimedia installation, mixed-media artworks, collage art, craft, transdisciplinary experiences

My favorite design is a film and graffiti art called “MUTO” by Italian street artist BLU. I first saw his work when I was in college which inspired me a lot. In his work, I can see the circulation of composition and decomposition which is extremely organic and imaginative not to mention audience can witness the passage of time frame by frame during the whole progress. Besides, his work has “site-specific” component in it, which he utilizes buildings, spaces, items on the ground, etc. to create plots and transitions seamlessly.

2010- 2011 Chief Designer | Zhong Zheng Senior High School, Responsible for the exhibition, poster, special issues, peripheral products, etc. for The project of Vibrating Bridge Cultural and Historical Preservation Plan.

My favorite material is found objects like jewelries, hardware, shells, etc. Things with intricate details and organic features are big plus for me and can catch my eyes easily. I usually start my projects with materials inspired me and define concepts with further researches. After that, I will decide what kind of platform or technology I should use. Generally, I love platform which can let audience to explore, uncover, touch and interact.

The level of integration between visual outlook and philosophical idea behind it.

I feel alive, passionate and optimistic. It’s very surreal but I do feel all my senses work so much better than normal and my body temperature will be higher than normal. And the weirdest thing is that I don’t feel hanger at all :)

I feel more connected to this world. And this emotion can echo a term: “Technique, is something that people can find their position in the universe” by Levi Strauss.

For me, the most important key factor to make a design successful is how much originality I can pull out from myself and transform into a form for others to experience.

Think big and break the boundaries of different disciplines with vision, originality and knowledge.

It seems that more and more multitaskers in the design field and transdisciplinary design and art is going to be the future.

My last exhibition was at Los Angeles Center for Digital Art (LACDA) from March 14 to April 06, 2019 and that’s my first solo exhibition which showcased two of my multimedia installation projects: “Relation Ship” and “Mental Black Hole”. And I want to have my next solo exhibition in 2020.

My design inspiration mostly from material itself and texture of the material. Besides that, I love to feed my creativity by studying marine biological forms and scientific illustration of microorganism under electron microscope. Especially illustration works by Ernst Haeckel, it’s great source and reference for me to think about how nature and everything formed.

I would describe my design style as organic, surreal and full of intricate details. My approach to design is usually starts with some found materials, concepts and philosophical ideas behind.

I am originally from Taiwan, a country surrounded by ocean. My childhood memories contain many sea lifeforms and so I deeply inspired by the sound of the ocean and the touch of sea and creatures. People can easily find my works full of textures and have quality of flowing water and liquidity for both visual and audio. Since climate in Taiwan is extremely humid and warm, things are easily decayed or changed if you don’t preserve it properly and intentionally. In other words, this factor makes things hard to keep in “perfect condition”. Things will change with the passage of time. However, this “cons” give me a lot of inspiration on creating works in dynamics and motions.

It depends. Some projects require to be on site so that it’s easier to have access towards equipment, stage and every other thing especially film or animation production which is under the camera. But if projects like graphic design or prototype, I work remotely by uploading files to dropbox or google drive and communicating with customers through Skype or e-mail.

My suggestions to companies for working with a designer is establishing a reasonable production schedule, one that is organized and builds trust among designers. And the way to select a good designer is by taking a close look at their resume and past and existing designs.

My design process normally starts with something “tangible” like found objects or drawings. Meanwhile, I do a lot of research into philosophical concepts to assist me in evolving and expanding my ideas to support the context of the work. As soon as my concept and experiment phase takes shape, and once I have a primary direction established, I move towards more technical issues, then I will set a clear production schedule for fulfilling the project.

My five favorite design items at home are: 1 - Riedel Twenty Twelve Red and Black Dragon Crystal Wine Decanter 2 – Diamantini & Domeniconi black cotton cloth clock 3 – Peugeot salt and pepper mill 4 – Bodum Pavina 8.5-Ounce Double-Wall Thermo Timber / DOF Glass 5 – MUJI black 0.38 clip-on gel pen

Generally my day pattern is like following: 7am swim, 8am breakfast, 8:30am walk dogs, 9am working time, 1pm lunch, 2pm working time, 5pm walk dogs, 6pm working time, 9pm dinner, 10pm shower, 11pm TV time, 12am bed time

When you are doing something you passionate about it sometimes means suffering. And you also need to do something you don’t feel comfortable with sometimes to make things happened. The most important thing is always tackling big problem first and digging into the small details

The best thing about being a designer is you can learn how to make decision fast and precisely and work creatively. But you have certain degree of pressure for accommodating and digesting different perspectives, information, voices and feedbacks from users and viewers. And you always have to find a balance for it.

70% great idea and set solid goal to make it happen + 30% unexpected magic

Time management, problem-solving ability, passion, patient, communication ability.

Since it’s a multimedia installation projects there are different of materials and tools used to accomplish this piece such as Dragonframe Stop-Motion software, Adobe Suite, Cricut, Agisoft Photogammetry Software, Maya, Redshift, Oculus Rift, Oculus Go, 2K Projection System, etc. As for the books and sources of inspiration come from different field in philosophy, science, medicine, etc.

I normally will have three types of schedules. First, I’ll have a month-based production schedule which serve as big main direction. And later, I’ll break down into weekly units to achieve each months’ goal. I utilize Excel to design above two types schedule. However, there are always some changes and variable factors and so I use google calendar to arrange my daily.

Most of my multimedia installation projects take 1-2 years to accomplish. And the individual artworks or objects vary from 1 week to 1 month.

My most important job experience is working on the stop-motion film “MAD GOD” directed by Phil Tippett which give me a chance to work closely with this legendary filmmaker and vfx wizard. I help with some experimental shooting and compositing which serve as pre-viz and experiment in the film production which been developing for more than three decades.

I enjoy work that can make people think deeper, surprise audience with the concept behind and stunning visual representation. In other words, work has high quality of social, interactive and visual functions inspire me the most.

My dream for future is to eventually have my own brand and studio. My short-term goal for next is to find sponsorship from fashion or accessories brands and companies. I wish to cooperate with them by repurposing their products into assemblage artworks and animation to create interesting art and visual experiences for viewers and customers.

I mostly develop idea and finish design by myself. But for the project stop-motion vr multimedia installation project- “Relation Ship” I worked with two other artists – Kun Xia (vr visual effect creative director) and Ping Sheng Wu (composer and sound designer) to achieve it.

I help and freelance on two work-in-progress projects lately. One is the stop-motion film project-“MAD GOD” directed by Phil Tippett which give me a chance to work closely with this legendary filmmaker and vfx wizard. I help with some experimental shooting and compositing which serve as pre-viz and experiment in the film production which been developing for more than three decades. The other is the interactive project led by artist Juri Hwang. She has this idea and been developing research aspect of this multisensory sound repairing interactive device for children- “Sound Toy for EJ” for many years. And I am responsible as creative director for visual design and character development. Besides, I work as art and film teacher and creative director at Oasis Trilingual Community School. Students develop their own script and turn into short film, which is very original, creative, wild and at the same time very challenging. It’s an amazing experience for me to work with kids and dig into all kinds of possibilities in visual, props and costumes design.

EMAIL: zoey.linwanchen@gmail.com WEBSITE: www.linwanchen.com FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000304664750 INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/zooeylinwanchen/?hl=en

Education :2015-2018 Master of Fine Arts – John C. Hench Division of Animation and Digital Arts, University of Southern California 2009-2013 Bachelor of the Fine Arts – Dept. Of Fine Arts, Division of Painting, National Taiwan Normal University Skills: Dragonframe | After Effects | Premier | Photoshop |Illustrator | Agisoft | Maya (Domemaster VR Plugin) | Graphic Design | Exhibition Design | Installation Design | Virtual Reality Design | Process-Driven Project Design | Collage Art with found objects | Hands-on techniques like ceramics, watercolor, sketch, ink, calligraphy, etc. Work Experiences + Employments: 2018 Dec - Art Director | University of Southern California | Division of Media Arts + Practice, Cooperation with project dir. Juri Hwang, Responsible for visual design and character development for multisensory sound repairing interactive device for children - “Sound Toy for EJ” 2018 Oct - Art . Film Teacher | Oasis Trilingual Community School, Responsible for teaching TK-8th grade Art . Film classes in bilingual (English / Mandarin) and creative art director for the short films based on students’ scripts. 2018 July - Tippett Studio Internship, Responsible for experimental shooting and compositing pre-viz for the stop-motion film, MAD GOD part4 directed by Phil Tippett. 2017 - 2018 Student Assistant | University of Southern California | John C. Hench Division of Animation and Digital Arts, Responsible for assisting professors during lectures and breakout and advising students on both concept and technical processes for their animation projects. Assignment: 2017 Spring Introduction to the Art of Animation, Lisa Mann, Associate Professor 2017 Spring Figure Drawing, Tom Sito, Professor 2018 Fall The World of Visual Effects, Craig Barron, Adjunct Faculty 2018 Fall Figure Drawing, Tom Sito, Professor 2016 - 2017 GSG Representative | University of Southern California | Persistence of Visionaries in John C. Hench Division of Animation & Digital Arts, Responsible for meeting with SCA Graduate Student Government. 2012 - 2015 Art Tutor | Designed individual lesson plans for one-on-one art lessons with students from age 12 to 16. Student Award: 2014 Catherine Lin, winner of Art Sponsorship Competition at Taipei American School 2013 - 2014 Art Teacher | Taipei Municipal Ying- Qiao Junior High, Responsible for teaching visual arts for 7th -9th grade. 2011 - 2012 Curator | National Taiwan Normal University, Responsible for curating the 61st Annual Exhibition Dept. of Fine Art and the Joint Exhibition in the Taipei Major Shopping District. 2010- 2011 Chief Designer | Zhong Zheng Senior High School, Responsible for the exhibition, poster, special issues, peripheral products, etc. for The project of Vibrating Bridge Cultural and Historical Preservation Plan. 2009- 2010 Major Lecturer | Y.M.C.A. Art Camp Volunteer Host, Responsible for organizing all art lessons and related activities for both students and parents.

Originally from Taiwan, I began as a fine artist investigating realism in painting and drawing. My work has evolved into multimedia works examining the existence of matter and the tension between the perceived “surface layer” and an imagined “flowing underlying layer.” I examine this tension in diverse subject matter utilizing collaged physical everyday objects and organic textures. Six years ago, observing and shooting mold growing on a wall day by day, I observed the decaying process via time, environment, and human factors. Wall mold grows, decomposes and proliferates in a similar way to more highly evolved creatures. By analyzing the conditions and the motion and comparing it to biological evolution, “Step by Step” (Stop motion, 2012) became the pilot animated film for three animation installation pieces in 2013-2014: “Semi-liquid Space”, “Breeding Ground” and “Fish-Bird Community”. These three pieces contained imaginative organic design that evolved in three different manners: living characteristics, sociological metaphor, and exploration of techniques intended to visualize the growth of the mold. I am interested in the duality of what you see versus what lies underneath. My ideas are inspired by the both the concept “Assemblage” proposed by Deleuze & Guattari, and the concept “Plissement” by Merleau-Ponty. “Assemblage” examines social complexity and its relationship to emphasizing fluidity and exchangeability. “Plissement” emphasized the body as the primary site of knowing the world, and that which is perceived cannot be disentangled from each other. These philosophies permeate my own work in both the ideation process and the visualization. The animation installation, “Mental Black Hole” (2016) examines how people perceive depression as opposed to the invisible activity taking place in the brain. This media-based installation, in the form of physical space with three-channel projection, presents a creative interpretation of the amygdala and hippocampus’ physical manifestations of depression. “Relation • Ship” (2018) is a film and virtual reality experience which is originally designed as the walkthrough installation. Initially the audience witnesses evocative gestural performance animation of the main character, “Fish Bone Queen,” giving away precious gifts from her own body. Upon entering the virtual reality environment, the viewer is immersed in a living bodyscape. This idea mirrors the perceived natural world and fluctuations in human relationships. Currently, I am utilizing technique, photogrammetry to alloy physical and virtual components for designing immersive experiences and hybrid animation.

My top three aspects of the design process are: finding tangible inspiration through physical (found) objects, philosophical concept, vision towards overall direction/overview I began as a fine artist investigating realism in painting and drawing. My work has evolved into multimedia works examining the existence of matter and the tension between the perceived “surface layer” and an imagined “flowing underlying layer.” I examine this tension in diverse subject matter utilizing collaged physical everyday objects and organic textures. Six years ago, observing and shooting mold growing on a wall day by day, I observed the decaying process via time, environment, and human factors. Wall mold grows, decomposes and proliferates in a similar way to more highly evolved creatures. By analyzing the conditions and the motion and comparing it to biological evolution, “Step by Step” (Stop motion, 2012) became the pilot animated film for three animation installation pieces in 2013-2014: “Semi-liquid Space”, “Breeding Ground” and “Fish-Bird Community”. I am interested in the duality of what you see versus what lies underneath. Besides, My ideas are inspired by the both the concept “Assemblage” proposed by Deleuze & Guattari, and the concept “Plissement” by Merleau-Ponty. “Assemblage” examines social complexity and its relationship to emphasizing fluidity and exchangeability. “Plissement” emphasized the body as the primary site of knowing the world, and that which is perceived cannot be disentangled from each other. These philosophies permeate my own work in both the ideation process and the visualization.

I feel alive, passionate and optimistic. It’s very surreal but I do feel all my senses work so much better than normal and my body temperature will be higher than normal. And the weirdest thing is that I don’t feel hunger at all :) Especially in the phase of doing experiments and researches (pre-production phase), it’s the most exciting part of all.

I am good at philosophical deep-down thinking process, observation toward things, self-awareness and determination. These aspects are very beneficial to know what and how to set organized schedule and goals for working different projects. My design journey is going toward the direction of experimental, immersive experiences and transdisciplinary cooperation.

I wish to work on more transdisciplinary projects and mixed media artworks and establish my own design brand. One part is that I wish to find sponsorship and cooperation opportunities with fashion or accessories brands and companies. The idea is to cooperate with them by repurposing and assembling their products into characters, sets or props which can become collage artworks as well as developing into short animation contents or series for expanding the story and assets. The other part is long-term goal which I desire to bring all these story ideas, assets and visual components to medicine field for creating interactive works that can serve as visual stimuli to help Parkinson’s patient, patient in pain, mental illness patient, etc.

Young or begging designer should feed yourselves with the best art by visiting museums to see more art and design as well as reading different things in diverse disciplines to expand horizons. And you can think big and have ambitious dream but at the same time you will need to set practical and unit goals to achieve it. In this way, you won’t overwhelm by your own ambition and can go to the right place step by step. Most importantly, if you unfortunately failed in some way, you must believe that’s temporary phenomenon- a step before your success and quickly jump out of sadness to find new approaches and solutions.

Think big and never give up. Practice problem solving. Set practical schedule and goal. Do not afraid of stepping out of comfortable zone. Try something new every day. Exercise.

Generally my day pattern is like following: 7am swim, 8am breakfast, 8:30am walk dogs, 9am working time, 1pm lunch, 2pm working time, 5pm walk dogs, 6pm working time, 9pm dinner, 10pm shower, 11pm TV time, 12am bed time

I do follow Colossal, WWD Fashion Magazine, and other fashion publications, which have some side interest/influence but not directly.

Current project Relation ship is the fusion and hybrid of manifold mediums. The visual outlook of this project is surreal and intricate at the same time you can see different influences from various fields on story arcs and character as well as set designs. This experimental VR+installation project combines storytelling, philosophy, and biomorphic virtual reality sculpture to allow viewers to experience visceral landscapes exploring the relationship between static exteriors and micro worlds hidden beneath the surface. Audio intertwines space, scale and sensations by magnifying the subtle sounds created by jewelry, chimes, three-stringed instruments, and ambient sounds. Ultimately the viewer will be left with a more intimate understanding of how worlds can be perceived differently depending on your vantage point.

Coco Chanel is my favorite designer. She breaks through many difficulties and boundaries in her time era to establish her design style and brand. I inspired a lot by her story and admire her works very much.

I am originally from Taiwan, a country surrounded by ocean. My childhood memories contain many sea lifeforms and so I deeply inspired by the sound of the ocean and the touch of sea and creatures. People can easily find my works full of textures and have quality of flowing water and liquidity for both visual and audio. Since climate in Taiwan is extremely humid and warm, things are easily decayed or changed if you don’t preserve it properly and intentionally. In other words, this factor makes things hard to keep in “perfect condition”. Things will change with the passage of time. However, this situation give me a lot of inspiration on creating works in dynamics and motions.

I mostly work alone in the beginning, and I want to start my own design practice and concept in early stage of pre-production and direct the project.

Currently I teach art and filmmaking/animation 2 days a week in a trilingual school, and past and present I present college seminars about my work and experiences.

The warm feeling of international recognition of my work, and ability to show my design work in a touring gallery show, publication of my work to a worldwide audience, invaluable networking with inspirational designers, potential customers, beautiful gala event, and visiting once again beloved Italy, inspiring in its own right. And of course, It’s wonderful to think and answer all these questions. I do learn a lot from the whole progress.

Education :2015-2018 Master of Fine Arts – John C. Hench Division of Animation and Digital Arts, University of Southern California 2009-2013 Bachelor of the Fine Arts – Dept. Of Fine Arts, Division of Painting, National Taiwan Normal University Skills:Dragonframe | After Effects | Premier | Photoshop |Illustrator | Agisoft | Maya (Domemaster VR Plugin) | Graphic Design | Exhibition Design | Installation Design | Virtual Reality Design | Process-Driven Project Design | Collage Art with found objects | Hands-on techniques like ceramics, watercolor, sketch, ink, calligraphy, etc. Artist Statement: Originally from Taiwan, I began as a fine artist investigating realism in painting and drawing. My work has evolved into multimedia works examining the existence of matter and the tension between the perceived “surface layer” and an imagined “flowing underlying layer.” I examine this tension in diverse subject matter utilizing collaged physical everyday objects and organic textures. Six years ago, observing and shooting mold growing on a wall day by day, I observed the decaying process via time, environment, and human factors. Wall mold grows, decomposes and proliferates in a similar way to more highly evolved creatures. By analyzing the conditions and the motion and comparing it to biological evolution, “Step by Step” (Stop motion, 2012) became the pilot animated film for three animation installation pieces in 2013-2014: “Semi-liquid Space”, “Breeding Ground” and “Fish-Bird Community”. These three pieces contained imaginative organic design that evolved in three different manners: living characteristics, sociological metaphor, and exploration of techniques intended to visualize the growth of the mold. I am interested in the duality of what you see versus what lies underneath. My ideas are inspired by the both the concept “Assemblage” proposed by Deleuze & Guattari, and the concept “Plissement” by Merleau-Ponty. “Assemblage” examines social complexity and its relationship to emphasizing fluidity and exchangeability. “Plissement” emphasized the body as the primary site of knowing the world, and that which is perceived cannot be disentangled from each other. These philosophies permeate my own work in both the ideation process and the visualization. The animation installation, “Mental Black Hole” (2016) examines how people perceive depression as opposed to the invisible activity taking place in the brain. This media-based installation, in the form of physical space with three-channel projection, presents a creative interpretation of the amygdala and hippocampus’ physical manifestations of depression. “Relation • Ship” (2018) is a film and virtual reality experience which is originally designed as the walkthrough installation. Initially the audience witnesses evocative gestural performance animation of the main character, “Fish Bone Queen,” giving away precious gifts from her own body. Upon entering the virtual reality environment, the viewer is immersed in a living bodyscape. This idea mirrors the perceived natural world and fluctuations in human relationships. Currently, I am utilizing technique, photogrammetry to alloy physical and virtual components for designing immersive experiences and hybrid animation.

Generally, experience things with my five senses will motivate me to create art and design installation. My instinct, desire and dream of creating + designing something transdisciplinary.

Site-specific installation, multimedia installation, mixed-media artworks, collage art, craft, transdisciplinary experiences

Think big and never give up is for sure the big part of it. It requires passion and Patience. Besides that, the abilities in time management, problem-solving skill, and communication with people are all crucial to achieve your goals.

A good designer improves others’ lives A great designer influences others’ thought

To see if the design can break the boundaries of different disciplines with vision, originality, aesthetic sense and knowledge.

The value of good design can greatly improve our society and make people think and work transdisciplinary which is the key to elevate cultures and civilizations. When people can value and invest good design it will create a great nurture environment for greater design. It will be like rivers to the ocean which make whole “design eco-system” moderate and optimal.

Transdisciplinary design, mixed-media art experience I wish to find sponsorship and cooperation opportunities with fashion or accessories brands and companies. The idea is to cooperate with them by repurposing and assembling their products into characters, sets or props which can become collage artworks as well as developing into short animation contents or series for expanding the story and assets. And later on I can bring all these story ideas, assets and visual components to medicine field for creating interactive works that can serve as visual stimuli to help Parkinson’s patient, Patient in pain, mental illness patient, etc.

Augmented Reality, 3D printing for food and accessories, molecular food art, Interactive works related to brain power and science, etc.

70% great idea and set solid goal to make it happen + 30% unexpected magic during the process

BLU, Yayoi Kusama, Joseph Beuys, Jan Svankmajer, Dinara Kasko, Marina Abromovic, Coco Chanel, etc.

BLU – idea of exploiting spaces, buildings and physical objects for making graffiti art and film Yayoi Kusama – concept of infinity, visual outlook, reflective mirror room, art strength Joseph Beuys – concept, message in the works, “One must not only transform the creation of paintings or sculptures (or animations), but the entire social form” Jan Svankmajer – concept, master in found objects animation, textures, visual outlooks Dinara Kasko – concept of combining architect design with culinary art Marina Abromovic – compelling and powerful concept, her work can always touch my soul Coco Chanel – courage of being unique, classic, visual outlook, simplicity, concept

Project Relation ship is the fusion and hybrid of manifold mediums. The visual outlook of this project is surreal and intricate at the same time you can see different influences from various fields on story arcs and character as well as set designs. This experimental VR+installation project combines storytelling, philosophy, and biomorphic virtual reality sculpture to allow viewers to experience visceral landscapes exploring the relationship between static exteriors and micro worlds hidden beneath the surface. Audio intertwines space, scale and sensations by magnifying the subtle sounds created by jewelry, chimes, three-stringed instruments, and ambient sounds. Ultimately the viewer will be left with a more intimate understanding of how worlds can be perceived differently depending on your vantage point.

Think big and never give up is for sure the big part of it. It requires passion and Patience. Besides that, the abilities in time management, problem-solving skill, and communication with people are all crucial to achieve your goals. And most important of all, artist and designer should always look at own work in different “distance” and go back and forth few times to adjust so that you can get “big picture” as well as “small details” for creating great work.

For me design is transferring imagination and inspiration into reality or visual experience. In other words, it’s a process of sculpting ideas which requires to put multiple layers of ideation together and later trim them down to accomplish the best interpretation.

My biggest supporter is my family especially my mother so that I can develop my art and design with professional training and thought-provoking education.