In the digital fashion realm, Shan Hua stands as a visionary, merging natural forms and human emotions in her designs. A Royal College of Art, Fashion graduate, her work transcends conventions, exploring the interplay between organic shapes and societal roles. With a narrative-driven approach to digital identity, her work ignites introspection and fascination, earning accolades like Best Virtual Reality at Cannes World Film Festival.

In my opinion, she's a trailblazer redefining fashion's boundaries as she blends disciplines and cross-pollinate expressions. Award-winning and boundary-pushing, Shan Hua's creations redefine fashion, inviting introspection and awe. When I observed her work I saw it as a dream expressed visually, with a surreal and hypnotic ambiance, shan’s creative direction is an amalgamation of art, design, film, technology, and fashion.

Her innovative imagination made her win many other awards such as Vogue China Fashion Funds, China, 2023, and VOGUE China 2024 May. "VOGUE China Digital Fashion Art Plan" strives to provide a display platform for emerging digital virtual creations and discover more possibilities for digital art in the future with creators. Eventually, all the achievements led her to work with various brands such as Ottolinger, Magliano, TogaPulla, HugoKreit, Magliano, Masha Popova, Cormio, and YuhanW.

When I saw Shan’s digital fashion work for the first time, it made me feel as if it was an audio-visual painting of the modern-day Renaissance with a psychological twist. Her characters and narration synchronized with one another from varied stories to build new stories is something I view as a creative direction that is not only swimming through imagination but is enriched with well-understood and researched history, culture, psychology, art, and of course fashion. Her work brings an insight into what future lies ahead in fashion. Her vision for the industry is not only rich with the transcendence of traditional medium but also an encouragement to various other creatives who seek an outlandish approach to creativity.

A Digital Odyssey: Origins and Evolution

"I don't know if it's possible to replace visual art with digital fashion, but I originally studied costume design and theatre arts at the BA level, so I was naturally exposed to 3d software and costumes. The reason I got into virtual creation was because of the epidemic, when all communication was online, and the best way to present my work was only digital," Shan reminisces, tracing the roots of her journey into digital expression. The advent of the epidemic in the 19th year served as a catalyst, compelling Shan to embrace digital mediums as the primary conduit for showcasing her art to a global audience and connecting better.

Crafting Narratives: The Art of Storytelling At the core of Shan's creative process lies a rich tapestry of narratives, woven from the threads of her eclectic reading habits and boundless imagination. "Drawing inspiration from disparate sources,"* Shan explains, *"I orchestrate a symphony of ideas, characters, and emotions that converge in the digital realm."* Her artworks serve as palimpsests, layered with echoes of past encounters and present revelations, inviting viewers into a multidimensional exploration of human experiences. “In the process of creation, I will first do some physical creation, such as sculpture, painting, and collage, and create the characters, costumes, and personalities of my stories, and then put them in a space where they feel like I am reading several books together, and these characters will dialogue with each other, creating new understandings and stories.”

Exploring Humanity: A Symbiotic Dialogue

Delving into the symbiotic relationships between natural forms and human emotions, Shan spotlighted the intricacies of existential roles. "Observing the natural world and human society," Shan reflects, *"I explore the shared dilemmas and reflections mirrored in both realms, fostering a deeper understanding of our interconnectedness. Perhaps I have always been an observer in life, observing the people who pass me by, observing the evidence of wind, light, water everything passing by, all the natural creatures, and by understanding them we understand ourselves, in a symbiotic relationship.”

Fashioning an innovative direction to design: Digital Expression in Fashion

For Shan, digital fashion transcends mere aesthetics; it represents a realm of boundless creative freedom. Unlike traditional fashion design, which confines creators to tangible materials, digital fashion empowers Shan to sculpt entire worlds with unparalleled autonomy. "In the digital realm," Shan enthuses, "I craft characters, costumes, narratives, and environments, weaving a rich tapestry of expression that defies conventional boundaries. I have to make all the decisions and designs in my digital creations, from the characters, make-up, and hair, to the costumes, to the storyline, to the camera, to the lighting, to the environments, I have to create a system and a world and not only the costumes, which puts all the things that I have learned before into a thread, and this is in a low-cost way, to meet the idealized way of creation that satisfies the idealized way of creating.” She adds “The acceptance of digital media by the public and the fashion industry has gone through three explosion points Metaverse, NFT, and AI. What started as a new way of creating media for a selected few has become a product driven by history. It may not be the future direction of the fashion industry, but it will certainly be part of the future of fashion."

Journey into the Absurd: Embracing Reality

Shan's artworks exist at the intersection of the surreal and the mundane, beckoning viewers into a dreamlike landscape punctuated by moments of absurdity. "Navigating the cacophony of modern existence," Shan shares, "my creations serve as mirrors reflecting the fragmented realities of contemporary life, inviting viewers to confront and contemplate the intricacies of their own lived experiences. When I was growing up, what I saw and felt was the absurd sequence. The human eye is like a long lens, and I grew up in an era of computer technology, of information explosion, of switching from one screen to another, of going from one piece of content to another, maybe one second watching a cartoon, and the next I’m reading about a murder in the newspaper, and then the next is the reality of the view from the window. Each of my works is the reality that I feel. If there is one thing I want to achieve, it's that someone will stay in front of this work and feel the reality that I’ve expressed in a small way! "

Unveiling the Artistic Process: From Concept to Creation

Every project undertaken by Shan begins with a spark of inspiration—a character, a dialogue, a movement—that blossoms into a narrative tapestry woven from threads of personal exploration and collective imagination. *"Each artwork," Shan reveals, "is a labor of love, meticulously crafted to evoke visceral responses and provoke introspection." Asking about her three main projects she said, “ In my work “ I Can Hear You, In an Unfamiliar Way” there are a total of 9 character images, which are an exploration of my personality. In this process of exploration, I caricature each aspect of my personality in a self-deprecating manner. They are active, safe, serious, proactive, cautious, creative, calm, sinister and hysterical. I voice these 9 characters, simulating a common language of prehistoric communities, and invite composer Niu Dou to blend their voices in a cappella style, breaking down the Tower of Babel of human language.” Similarly, her project THEY 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 of hers skillfully translates the subconscious influence of cross-cultural literature on personal life experiences. “I’m always inspired by the natural environment. I meticulously observe and explore everything around me. I often revolve around existence, the symbiotic relationship between natural forms and humanity, and reflections on our roles.” She claims on the healing effect of nature. “Watching the wind blow through the leaves, I transform elements of the natural world into characters. They sometimes are gentle, at times cruel, dancing gracefully, soothing human anxieties and vulnerabilities. They attract me like destiny. I excel at combining digital identity with concepts of fashion. Fashion is prominent in my character descriptions, with my animations incorporating fashion elements and props of headgear and other accessories”

In her third project NOVELIST, The author uses the writing process of a novelist as the main line to draw out the story of three different stages of farewell. From parting with friends to parting with the dead, to parting with extinct creatures. Capturing the subtext of life with delicate differences to engage the timeline and the fluctuation of emotions, Shan creates a sense of a mind muttering itself and gradually in and out of the picture. With strong colors and oxymoronic dialogues on heavy topics, this East Asian style of twisted, subtle, and evasive comedy is her very personal audio-visual language.

Looking Ahead: Embracing the AI Revolution

In an era defined by technological disruption, Shan remains undaunted by the encroaching influence of AI on the art industry. "AI," Shan asserts, "serves as a collaborative ally, augmenting my creative vision and amplifying my ability to connect with audiences on a deeper level." As she looks to the future, Shan envisions her concepts and ideas evolving in tandem with cutting-edge technologies, heralding new vistas of artistic exploration. “Many people ask me if AI hurts my current work, but it doesn't. In many of my jobs, AI helps my clients understand the concepts I want to express, and AI helps many people who have aesthetic sense but lack the skills to draw or paint in 3d to realize their imaginations. In the future, I will probably explore the relationship between social phenomena and pop culture more deeply in terms of storytelling and expression, and I'm willing to explore more cutting-edge technology, whether its AI or 3D”.

A World of Inspiration: Bergman, Tarkovsky, and Beyond

Drawing inspiration from the rich tapestry of cinematic and literary landscapes, Shan finds solace in the works of masters like Bergman and Tarkovsky. "While their evocative storytelling continues to resonate," Shan reflects, "true inspiration lies in the raw textures of reality—the fleeting moments, the chance encounters, the whispered truths—that shape my artistic odyssey."

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Shan's artistic journey serves as a testament to the transformative power of creativity in an ever-evolving digital landscape. With each pixel and render, she invites us to embark on a voyage of exploration and innovation, where the boundaries between reality and imagination blur, and the possibilities are limitless.

On Going Online Solo Exhibition: Will Is a Snotty Knife That Never Truly Pierced Anyone Present by Slime Engine : Slime Engine is presenting the premiere online solo exhibition of artist Hua Shan, titled Will Is a Snotty Knife That Never Truly Pierced Anyone, featuring three cinematic creations: THEY, NOVELIST, I Can Hear You, In an Unfamiliar Way. As a fashion film director, Shan Hua examines and reflects on the macro shifts of the era with a microscopic, almost alchemical approach, revealing the cultural and societal significances hidden in everyday trivialities.

SHAN HUA

@shanhua.me

Interview JAGRATI MAHAVER

@_jag_rati_