Profile
 Colleen Chen, born on March 22, 2000, in Shanghai, China, is an interdisciplinary visual artist working with moving images, photography, game environments, and installation design. Through practices in visual storytelling and spatial experience, exploring how image, sound, and interactive media construct alternative ways of seeing and understanding everyday life. Works often draw on personal experience, employing observational and experimental approaches to reflect on the relationship between the individual and their environment.

Education
University of Auckland
Master of Fine Arts 
2025

Employment
Remote Illustrator
UGLY (Shanghai) Advertising Co., Ltd. 
2024 - 2025

Primary Art Teacher
The Wonder Centre
2023 - 2024
Skills
Narrative Development
Visual Storytelling
Graphic Design
Typography
2D Animation
Video Editing
Game Development (Unity, Blender)
Installation Art
Documentary Photography

Exhibitions
MADE IN A DAY
Silo 6
Auckland
2025

ELAM Graduation Show
Elam School of Fine Arts
Auckland
2025



Colleen  ChenArt Portfolio Work Collections 2019-2025 Email: wuyuflower@126.com

Project 01

Soundscape Installation Theatre: The Forest
(2025 - present)


This project explores narrative possibilities in new media art and the relationship between audiences and interactive storytelling.

The works span writing, moving-image, sound installation, and game development, transforming a fictional narrative into an immersive spatial experience.

In the exhibition, the gameplay recording was displayed on a 14-inch CRT television with headphones for an individual audio experience. Two speakers mounted on the exhibition wall continuously played an AI-generated male voice narrating the story from a first-person perspective.

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Produced with: Unity,  Blender, Adobe Photoshop


Narrative Text I: City and Forest

 A suffocating pain rises in his chest, forcing him to grip his collar. As he collapses onto the cold, rough ground from a sudden wave of intense dizziness, the hard sensation in his palm stirs memories of the past.



When he left home, he didn’t bring many things,just a bag of clothes and a necklace he had received from an elder in his family. The pendant was wooden, carried the scent of the tree it had once been. He remembered the elder who had given him this necklace once telling him a story,a tale from ancient times about towering trees that once reached toward the heavens, connecting earth and sky, bridging mortals and gods. He wondered,did the gods live atop those trees? So he found the tallest tree he could and climbed to the top but saw no trace of any gods.



The dry wind carried with it the roar of machinery, the dust, and the rusty scent of exposed steel bars from the skeletal frames of unfinished buildings, scattering the lingering traces of nature’s breath. The city’s skyscrapers stood at heights even the tallest trees could never rival. If one spoke of touching the heavens, he thought these urban colossi surely surpassed the old legends. Yet even up there, the traces of gods remained elusive.



However, the work at hand and the next meal mattered far more than gods to him now. Survival left no room for the myth from childhood. And when, after long hours of labour, he walked into the bustling crowds on the streets, sometimes felt as though an unknown force was propelling him forward,even with exhaustion weighing on his body, his legs still moved to a rhythm that seemed beyond his own will. It was in moments like these that he couldn’t help but wonder if there really was some invisible presence above the sky,observing his every step, manipulating him like a plaything, bearing down on him until his breath grew thinner and thinner?



In this city, he once met a traveler. The traveler said he was born and raised in another city, until one day he decided to see a different side of the world and left his home. From urban jungles to rural fields, then beyond, across ridges and open plains. Finally, when his journey ended and he returned home, he desperately found that the city was no longer the one in his memory. Everything had changed; nothing and no one remained as it once was. So he set out again, wandering from city to city, yet none could become his home. And so his footsteps never ceased.



"City is devouring people and their memories." Before setting off, the traveler said this: his next destination was a wilderness untouched by any city. Perhaps there, he might finally find a place to anchor his wandering soul.



The idea had seemed preposterous to him at the time - city being no living beast to gorge on human flesh. Yet what he'd shrugged off as nonsense ramblings now clung to him like a spectre's breath, whispering at the edges of his hearing.



The night sky reflects a murky neon crimson, and to him who is lying on the ground now, the surrounding buildings loom even more vertiginously, tilting as if to collapse upon him - like the closing maw of some living leviathan. Is the city truly devouring him? How can that be? These steel-and-concrete structures were the very antithesis of life itself. Yet, the large number of buildings blots out the sky, forming an endless, forest-like landscape. A inescapable labyrinth.



In his dazed state, time seems to accelerate at an unnatural pace, as if someone has pressed fast-forward. He feels his body being gradually digested and dissolved - first breaking into countless fleshy fragments, then finally melting into a pool of blood that seeped into the ground, merging with the bricks and mortar of the city walls. His once-human flesh will become nutrients sustaining the monstrous entity called 'the city,' fueling its growth until he has provided every last calorie of heat, vanishing completely from this world.



Simultaneously, amidst despair and agony, the last piece of his consciousness is carried away by the woody fragrance from a fallen pendant beside his face - back to that forest in his memory. There, he remains his pure self, still believes that one day he will find that giant tree where gods rested, climb to its crown, and speak face-to-face with those gods about the vistas he'd seen from rooftops higher than any tree in that other version of the world. Now lying on the leaf-strewn ground, he let insects scurry through the foliage beneath his weary body. The dappled sunlight filtering through the interlaced branches carries the warmth of a mother's embrace, while the chorus of chirping insects and rustling leaves composes nature's lullaby, granting him his long, long repose.


Gameplay Recording


Exhibition Record


Project Webpage

Project 02

Confinement,  Delusion  and The Fallen Flower
(2022-2024)


This project reflects on emotional experience during the pandemic and the process of female growth, exploring contemporary social issues and psychological states through storytelling and visual language.

The project began with a series of illustrations derived from memory and meditation, which serve as the conceptual foundation for narrative design and animation.

Two animated films were finally produced. Confinement (2021) uses the metaphor of a cocoon and a moth to express isolation, transformation, and longing for home. Delusion (2024) focuses on psychological illusion and self-perception under social pressure.

















Produced with: Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Premiere Pro, Clip Studio Paint
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Confinement

About 24 days have passed since she realised that she is trapped in this closed and silent space. There is nothing here, and the only way she relied on to calculate time was to count the number of times the light leaked from the window at the upper right of the space. She doesn't know whether the light comes from nature or man-made objects. If the light is the illusion of the outside world disguised by cold and lifeless artifacts, she can only lament helplessly that she can only live on false hope even if she is trapped in this lonely and barren space; It would be great if the light is natural light, but it seems that there is no function for this place to let her go in and out. Even knowing that it is real natural light is useless. At most, it can only be a trace of comfort in her heart, but it is always better than being cheated by her sincerity, being cheated is like the moment when the candy that she had been looking forward to for a long time in her childhood tore open the package, it fell to the ground like a flying insect that can't predict its flight orbit.

She can't remember exactly when and why she was locked up. Perhaps it is because human beings have almost perished because of a disaster, and she is one of the individuals selected to survive. The empty and quiet environment is eating away at her senses. Fortunately, or unfortunately, she still retains her consciousness. In such an environment, all she can do is imagine and think. She looks at the light and shadow projected from the window onto the opposite wall. A moth sways into the light. 



"Moth. Maybe I am also a larva. Here is the pupa that wraps me. As long as I have experienced eclosion, this boring dream will end."



The moth flies for a while with its unique, unpredictable trajectory, then stops and doesn't move anymore. The whole space falls into silence again. She slowly closes her eyes. She begins to get bored with meaningless associations. This time, she chooses to become a part of space completely, become an insect in the pupa completely. 



"After all, insects don't think."



This is her last thought before her consciousness sinks into the chaos.

Title: Confinement
Medium: Video
Time: 4min51s
Dimension: 1920px * 1080px
Year: 2022


Confinement (2022)

Delusion

She doesn't want to wake up because she can't face the real world. She can't accept the reflection she saw in the bathroom mirror with empty, muddy eyes last week. In contrast, in this land of delusions that abandons all prejudices and rules, no one will judge or care about her. She doesn't want to be the strong one in the eyes of the public; she only wants to be the master of her world.



The colours here are not as pure as her ideal, but compared to the reality, she feels it is good, and she wants this moment to last forever if it is possible. The world outside there has too much chaos, too much bondage, too much anxiety. At least no mirrors here, so she has freedom and autonomy.



She could not fit into the atmosphere of those people wearing masks, on the stage constructed by lies, pleasing each other with false and flattering smiles to exchange for what they wanted. Even though she had tried to fit into the template that people admired, her clumsy and stupid nature would drag her down from the exquisite stage. Now, she is lost in hallucinations so that she no longer has to drag her tired body against the outside world with her flagging spirit.



"I am alone, always have been, and always will be." She speaks to herself.



The rampage of imagination gives her the confidence to become the creator of the world. When she tries to make her puppet, she can't find satisfactory materials to fill the cavity in the puppet's chest. So, she lowers her head and looks at her chest, not knowing when she can no longer feel her heartbeat; there is only a hole left in her body.


Title: Delusion
Medium: Video
Time: 3min
Dimension: 1920px * 1080px
Year: 2024


Delusion (2024)

The Fallen Flower

The girl runs, her long hair flowing like gauze behind her.

Her steps are like the shooting stars.

Her shadow, swaying on the asphalt, darts across the mottled walls. As long as she does not stop, she is the spirit of the wind, the embodiment of freedom and youth. All the noise of man-made machines, all the noise of other people, has nothing to do with her.



She runs happily, then something breaks into her vision.



There is a flower on the ground, a mass of red that fell from a branch into the road. It is so striking, so obtrusive, that the surroundings and herself all become dim because of that mass of red. She stops and stands still in front of the red. She lifts it from the dirt of the earth and stares at it entranced. At that moment, she forgets to run. She just wants to indulge in the magic of red.

As if enchanted by the siren's song, she wants to know all about the red, and to do so, she has to get closer, closer until she can smell the decay of the thing in her hands.



She is startled by the tingling sensation in her palms, black living things crawling out of the red.



Fear. Dismay.



It takes only a moment to fall from heaven into the abyss.



When the object falls to the ground, it produces an inaudible sound.

Like just waking up in a dream, she fixes her sight and looks down, and the red is no longer as gorgeous as it was at first sight. The dark spots on the red suggest corruption and death.



She resumes her steps, with a last disdainful glance at the temptation.



What awaits her next? A wonderful encounter or another seduction?



She runs, feeling the breeze against her face, like a newborn.

Project 03

Silent Dance
(2025)


A hand-drawn moving-image project inspired by the “Silent Disco” event among young people in Shanghai, exploring collective behaviour and performative urban culture.

This project was produced for MADE IN A DAY, a 24-hour group creation organised by postgraduate students at Elam School of Fine Arts. Works exhibited at Silo 6 from 28th to 31st August, 2025.


































































Produced with: Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Premiere Pro, Clip Studio Paint
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INS Page

Video Documentation

Project 04

Between Frames of Daily Life
(2021)


This project explores memory, isolation, and emotional experience during the pandemic through moving-image, illustration, and poetry.















































Produced with: Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Premiere Pro
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Fluttering Clothes (2021)

Fluttering Clothes another version (2021)


Stir the Milk (2021)

Stir the Milk another version (2021)
Cat (2021)


Cloudy Sky (2021)

Mum (2021)

Work Title: Antagonistic Symbiosis
Medium: Video
Time: 1min7s
Dimension: 981px * 985px
Year: 2021


Antagonistic Symbiosis 拮抗共生 (2021)





There is no place to turn back



I'm on an isolated island





Every day, I open my eyes and look at the same ceiling



Brush teeth, wash face, comb hair,

and then boil a pot of water



This routine became a ritual

I had to perform every morning





The notion of time gradually faded from my consciousness          



I left the utopia of my inspiration








My life, my emptiness





I live in silence

and I feel the noise



I live in isolation

and I crave excitement



I am ordinary

yet I hate being boring



I want to sing

but my throat closes





Opposing forces

keep tearing at me



I am complete on the outside                                      

and chaotic on the inside


Estrangement, dissociation





I can be myself

I can be anyone else





The observed remains

the observer disappears





How do I establish my existence?                                  





I exist

in this moment



in this moment



Or not


I keep picturing my life



Is it a compulsive act?

Or is it subconscious?





And I shut myself up in a small space,

looking through a window into a finite world                      



Getting the required information

through a screen





Life is rich and colourful,

and boring and pale





In this way

I retreated into my own little world



lost in unreal memories

with the texture of old photographs



Here is my gentle home

my own private haven

Project 05

ART IS OUR WEAPON
(2020)


A collaborative project inspired by the novel Little Women. It explores female resilience and empowerment through poster design influenced by feminist artists.

Four posters with the Chinese slogan “艺术是我们的武器 (Art is Our Weapon) ” were finally printed and installed across the campus entrance, stairway, bus stop, and notice board, transforming the work into a temporary public intervention.















































































Produced with: Adobe Photoshop
3.1
3.2
3.3

Project 06

There are no facts, only interpretations.
(2019)


By referencing Marcel Duchamp’s Fountain (1917) and a quote from Nietzsche, this conceptual printmaking project reflects on the question “ What defines contemporary art?”  within the context of postmodern art.

Nietzsche’s quote “There are no facts, only interpretations.” was translated in Chinese “没有事实，只有诠释。” and overlapped on the figure of Fountain (1917).

The design was made into posters, postcards, and wristbands.












*Fountain (1917) marked a shift from skill-based aesthetic production to conceptual artistic practice. The artist became a question-raiser rather than a craftsman, while the meaning of art emerged through various interpretations.

Poster Design



















































Photos were taken in front of the Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki
3.2
3.3

Postcard Design
Wristband Design
Exhibition Installation

Project 07

Common Life
(2019)


This documentary photography project explores the relationship between family, migration, and shared domestic space through a collaborative photographic process with my father.
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My father moved to New Zealand alone in 2014 to support our family. Two years later, I joined him, and we began living together in a crowded rental house shared with several other tenants.

Private space was limited, and communal areas such as the kitchen and bathroom were shared. Within this environment, my father and I gradually formed our own small living circle, separate from the rest of the household.

At the beginning, I handed the camera to my father and asked him to photograph my daily life. Apart from basic suggestions about framing and subjects, he was free to shoot intuitively.

Seeing myself through his photographs revealed an unfamiliar perspective of my own presence. In response, I decided to document the moments we spent together on his only weekly day off.

An orange peel placed on a windowsill evokes the well-known Chinese essay The Sight of Father's Back, in which a father buys oranges for his son, an image strongly associated with fatherhood in Chinese cultural memory.


Work Title: Lunch Making Record
Medium: Video
Time: 6min25s
Dimension: 720px * 404px
Year: 2019


Lunch Making Record, 2019

Project 08

Lifestyle
(2021)


This project explores the psychological impact of isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic.

I drew inspiration from Giorgio Morandi’s painting. By depicting everyday objects in my room, the works reflect on the theme of belonging and identity.

The final presentation consists of five paintings depicting everyday items placed on corners, shelves, cabinets, and tables in my bedroom.

The works were arranged across two studio walls to recreate a space resembling my personal room. Compared with earlier experiments, the final paintings use a restrained colour palette and simplified forms, creating a calm and introspective atmosphere.



Figure 1
Title: Books and Table Lamp
Year: 2021
Medium: gouache on canvas
Dimension: 43cm x 44cm
Figure 2
Title: Laptop
Year: 2021
Medium: gouache on canvas
Dimension: 40cm x 50cm

Figure 3
Title: Bath Lotion and Shampoo
Year: 2021
Medium: gouache on canvas
Dimension: 27cm x 33cm

Figure 4
Title: Wash Supplies
Year: 2021
Medium: gouache on canvas
Dimension: 30cm x 30cm

Figure 5
Title: Bottles and a Few Sundries
Year: 2021
Medium: gouache on canvas
Dimension: 30cm x 40cm
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As a first-generation Chinese immigrant living in New Zealand, I often felt uncertain when navigating different cultural environments.



Being far from my hometown and family gradually created a sense of distance from my past life, while the pandemic further intensified feelings of isolation. This project emerged from my attempt to reconcile these contradictions and search for a sense of belonging.




























The first two pieces of digital drawing were inspired by Vincent van Gogh’s Bedroom in Arles. I portrayed the personal space as a place of emotional refuge.

In my sketch practice, I studied the compositional approach of Michael Craig-Martin and began drawing the objects in my bedroom using clear contour lines and simplified perspectives.

Later, I redrew the scene on paper and applied colour using gouache. High-saturation colours and strong outlines were adopted, while preserving the three-dimensional presence of classical painting technique.
I then expanded the scale from paper drawings to canvas paintings, and explored both gouache and oil paint, comparing their visual effects.

As the practice progressed, the paintings shifted toward a flatter composition and more simplified shapes, while still referencing the natural colours of the objects.


Top Work Collections 2019-2025