Bihan Zhang

I developed the idea ‘shift of time and space’ depending on my own experiences in Vancouver, Canada; and Shenzhen, China in the past and present. Additionally, I displayed my imaginations about my future life in New York, U.S. I called my zine ‘Past Present Future’.

In this project, I learned multiple new techniques, such as paper collage, stab banding, rubber-stamp making, and zine making. I believe that all these skills would be useful for my future projects as well. I am satisfied with the final product I made. I pride myself on holding a physical book that I created as well as on sharing my work with others, my friends and family. For the next time, I wish that I could make up for regret, trying the stab banding technique on my own zine. Also, there are mainly images in this zine and less words. I want to try making a book with the same percentage of photos and text, and maybe revealing a complete storyline.

In my zine, ‘shift’ is from one day to the next, from one place to another. In each new environment, I need to experience a new kind of life with new language, culture, friends and lifestyle. Then to build up my own communication in this city, getting familiar with the transportation, weather, and people nearby. Finally, I create a large number of memories, including happiness and sadness; and form a lot of daily routines and habits in the city. However, at this point, it is the time for me to leave this country although I am unwilling to do so and start a new journey.