My friend, Fear not
Video Installation
19‘14’
This work tells the story of a contemporary young person who, seeking to escape the pressures of modern society, unexpectedly travels into the home of the protagonist from Kafka's unfinished novel The Trial. The house is empty, and the only voice comes from a mask hanging on the wall. The two characters, with contrasting personalities and viewpoints—one practical, the other romantic; one focused on the macro, the other on the micro—engage in a conversation about beauty, death, life, and love. Their dialogue evolves from arguments to mutual understanding, influence, and, ultimately, comfort.
Shan Hua replaces traditional imagery with the form of a room, breaking away from linear narrative structures. By focusing on core literary content, the work presents a contemporary "outsider’s" fractured identity, the fragmentation of information, and generational trauma. This piece moves beyond "perfect storytelling" to become an experimental space for "genuine resonance."
I CAN HEAR YOU, IN AN UNFAMILIAR WAY
In this series of video works, there are a total of 9 character images, which are the artist's exploration of their own personalities. In this process of exploration, the artist caricatures each aspect of her personality in a self-deprecating manner. They are active, safe, serious, proactive, cautious, creative, calm, sinister and hysterical.The artist herself voices these 9 characters, simulating a common language of prehistoric communities, and invites composer Niu Dou to blend their voices in an a cappella style, breaking down the 'Tower of Babel' of human language.
Shan Hua's work focuses on the relationship between individuals and collectives, and raises historical questions across faith, race, gender, and multilingualism.
This Film Selected by SENSEI Film Fest Semi-Finalist, Venice Under the Stars – International Film Festival and A Shaded View on Fashion Film.
NOVELIST
Shan Hua uses the writing process of a novelist as the main line to draw out the story of three different stages of farewell. By capturing the subtext of life with delicate differences to engage the timeline and the fluctuation of emotions, the author creates a sense of a mind muttering itself and gradually in and out of the picture. With strong colours and oxymoronic dialogues telling heavy topics, this East Asian style of twisted, subtle and evasive comedy is the author's very personal audio-visual language.This Film won Cannes World Film Festival Best Virtual Reality (Short) award, exhibited at Vogue’s Forces of Fashion Conference.
THEY
This work unfolds in the form of a fairy tale. The protagonist is a weather eye that needs power gems. The eye met different characters, including the Sun Girl, the Book Man and his partner, the Tornado Girl and the Prophet. The Weather Eye experiences a journey from naivety to confusion, from anticipation to loss, until finally relinquishing its obsession under the Prophet's hint. This piece skillfully translates the subconscious influence of cross-cultural literature on personal life experiences.Shan Hua's works are always inspired by the natural environment. She meticulously observes and explores everything around her. Her works often revolve around existence, the symbiotic relationship between natural forms and humanity, and reflections on our roles. She believes that nature has a healing effect. Watching the wind blow through the leaves, she transforms elements of the natural world into characters. They are sometimes gentle, sometimes cruel, dancing gracefully, soothing human anxieties and vulnerabilities. They attract her like destiny. She excels at combining digital identity with fashion thinking. Fashion is prominent in her character descriptions, with her animations incorporating fashion elements such as headwear, clothing, and makeup.
This Flim won London International Web & Shorts Film Festival (UK) Best Animation Award，won Madonie Film Festival, Region of Sicily Best Fashion Award, selected by London Fashion Film Festival，A Shaded View on Fashion Film selected, Sunday Shorts Film Festival selected，Falcon International Film Festival Nomineed, Berlin Kiez Film Festival Honorable Mention
This work is inspired by a quote from Rihanna: "Makeup is there for you to have fun with. Feel free to take chances, and take risks, and dare to do something new or different." In my eyes, she is an adventurer, always curious to explore the unknown of this world.
The different creatures in this mysterious forest are the metaphor and anthropomorphism of her brand Fenty beauty colour palette, they are the images of cute creatures in different colors, which also metaphorically represent the different life experiences that makeup can give.
