Andy Xianyi Zhang Portfolio
I’m a London-based moving image artist originally from Shanghai. Through a female lens, I explore memory, identity, and urban life, focusing on overlooked communities and quiet, everyday experiences. My work blends experimental film, immersive sound, and non-linear narratives to investigate how human presence interacts with space, capturing the subtle tensions between memory, perception, and the passage of time.
Dummy City (2026)
Work-in-progress, Single-channel moving image
What made us who we are today: the facts of the matter, or the memories we invented? Made after discovering a lost journal, Andy Xianyi Zhang’s new work explores two parallel fictions: the fabrication of memory and the construction of the self. Filtered through the hallucinatory lens of nostalgia, the film transports the viewer into a world of plush toys, called ‘Dummy City’.
INTERMISSIONS – The Horse Hospital, London, UK, May 2026
Password: DummyCityWIP
All Things Being Equal (2025)
Work-in-progress, Music Video Collaboration with elbowwww
This work-in-progress video is a collaboration with experimental ambient musician elbowwww for the track a bounding sabian fights sleep. The composition combines vocals, bass guitar, field recordings, and layered ambient textures, creating a soundscape that drifts between tension and release.
The visual response translates these qualities into moving image, exploring shifting states of wakefulness and disorientation. Drawing from the track’s evolving structure, the video imagines unstable landscapes that blur the boundary between consciousness and dream.
Walking Dog (2024)
Single-channel moving image/14'24"/Stereo
A poignant exploration of alienation set in an industrial wasteland, Walking Dog follows a woman and her dog as they navigate dependence and rebellion. When the dog slips its leash and escapes, the woman’s search transforms into an introspective journey, questioning personal and societal constraints. The film examines the struggle against an oppressive environment, reflecting on identity and freedom through their relationship. A meditation on breaking free from invisible chains, Walking Dog highlights the silent pursuit of autonomy and self-discovery.
Office Master – Millbank Tower Podium, London, UK, April 2024
Password: WalkingDog130724
Luminous City (2023)
Single-channel moving image/16'30"/Stereo
Set in a dystopian city swallowed by night, this wordless film tells the story of a luminous pariah who risks everything to protect her radiant identity in a world of commodification. A tale of resilience and the triumph of light over darkness.
Existing in Shadowland – ArtSect Gallery, London, UK, May 2024
Artist Talk Magazine, Issue 30, March 2024
Password: LuminousCity
Obsession (2022)
Single-channel moving image/6'17"/Stereo
A woman’s surreal and transformative pursuit to meld with seawater, symbolizing unattainable intimacy. The film explores themes of longing and desire, blending human emotions with the depths of nature to evoke contemplation on the allure of the unattainable.
Wilderness Commons – Fringe Arts Bath Festival, Newark Works, Bath, UK, May-June 2024
Violent Bodies – Ugly Duck Gallery, London, UK, February 2024
