by Editor Despird Zhang 
in collaboration with Zhou Chengzhou 

Published the  23rd  of October 2020

Graduated from Peking University, Zhou Chengzhou is an artist and film director.
His director's representative works are the art film Sub-subconscious.

He is mainly engaged in artistic creation and research in the field of spiritual consciousness. His works also combine the views of industry, urbanization, and marginalization. At the same time, he also focuses on the alienation between people and a broader and homogenized culture.

He is the Winner of the 1X Photo award 2017/2018 : Human skylight

'Human skylight'

Today, we are sharing here the story of his latest film: Sub-subconscious

The movie is divided into five parts, each part expresses the subconscious in different forms. It is mainly in the form of subconscious to show people's appearance and inner world. It is difficult to have such a form. The film also combines some actual cases. Only in the brain, perhaps in mental illness, can it take shape and convey different personalities and ideologies of different people.

These ideologies take place in cities, rural areas and developed areas. These estrangements are often hidden. They either hide passively or actively. The alienated subconscious is hidden in those unknown corners, often unknown, and these subconsciouses are not willing to be opened by the general form. Sometimes these ideologies appear to be very benevolent so the bearers behave like ordinary people, but these ideologies have embedded fears and splits that ordinary people cannot feel. These psychological activities are usually related to physiological, mental, or pathological factors.

Maybe one day the film will help these alienated people return to their real normal state in some gentle and unique way.

Trailer 'Sub-subconscious' 

PLEASE SMILE AT ME

I have been doing research in the field of mental consciousness, and I have been paying attention to some neglected mental consciousness diseases. These neglected diseases often only appear in the subjective ideology. On the surface, they seem to be the same as normal people, but in fact, they have undergone tremendous changes in their conscious world. They seem to be good at hiding, and then as a state of self-isolation It becomes a separation of time and space, separated from consciousness.

They will even be amazed at the gradual change of their own world. In fact, they are also playing a normal game. They will see a freeze frame animation like picture. They will see their hands suddenly become big. They will see a group of children in bright colors dancing in the dark environment. They will also dissociate a number of personality coexistence they do not know. These may lead to some negative social behaviors or even crimes, for instance, Todd Phillips's " Joker". Social discrimination and misunderstanding of these people might eventually lead to tragedy. Ordinary people can only react and have a fresh understanding of the pain of these distinct group through the lens. This has been the case for most of the time.

As an image creator and a patient with some mild symptoms, I try to use some image media and my understanding to create some lenses with visual language, hoping to bring attention to these people through these lenses and distinguish them from the traditional written literature.

Please smile at me-01

Please smile at me-02

Please smile at me-03

Please smile at me-04

Please smile at me-05

Please smile at me-06

Please smile at me-07

Please smile at me-08

Please smile at me-09

Please smile at me-10

Please smile at me-11

Please smile at me-12

WHITE SPIRIT  - HUMAN SCULPTURE

Living on this planet, we bring too many changes to it: Pollution, environmental impacts, and the living conditions of wild animals are all changing. 

People show different ideologies and spiritual states in various environment. These shapes are represented by various factors. 

I try to call it White Spirit. In real life, it is very difficult to have such a form, only in the brain, perhaps only in mental illness, it can form, and convey different mental states of different people. 

They are colored in nature, but they are also hidden in nature. At the same time, they have weak sociality in nature. 

I try to integrate my subconscious understanding of these ideologies for interactive thinking, the concept of spiritual consciousness into the natural environment in the form of human sculpture, and then contact the world in a way that creates no direct interaction with the environment. At the same time, the concept of split personality is introduced to strengthen the thinking of the ideology of human sculpture. It is hoped that people can attach importance to the relationship between man and the natural environment and between man and man through images. 

This is a long-term project, and I will continue to look for some local elements and my own ideas which arouse some fresh connections and resonances. The project will be long going.

White Spirit – Human sculpture 01

White Spirit – Human sculpture 02

White Spirit – Human sculpture 03

White Spirit – Human sculpture 04

White Spirit – Human sculpture 05

White Spirit – Human sculpture 06

White Spirit – Human sculpture 07

White Spirit – Human sculpture 08

White Spirit – Human sculpture 09

White Spirit – Human sculpture 10