Daniel Zhou

Daniel Zhou is a London based artist born in China. He came to the UK at the age of 14 and has established his own understanding of Western arts. Daniel’s dedication to the creative arts began with drawing in 2010, printing in 2012 and collage in 2013. Now he combines all these media and experiences in his current work. He has had experience in etching, relief, lithography, screen-printing and embossment through his 8 years of study in printmaking.

Daniel has a Foundations degree from Central Saint Martins and an Undergraduate degree in Illustration from Camberwell College of Art. He is very much interested in taking night photography to capture a particular moment in time with the powerful interplay between light and shadows, creating narratives within the mysterious night-time. He is also fascinated by the repeated production aspect of prints.

As a fine artist, I always have the passion to create artwork with the application of printmaking. I found the unique mark-making and textures in prints cannot be created with any other digital drawing technology. Just as the concept of "Print" is constantly interpreted, projected, printed and remodelled in new ways in the development of contemporary art, images can also be redeﬁned and reshaped in various forms, so as to inspire us to reveal the cultural trends in our practice of arts and inﬂuence and even change the world, as well as people's lives.

In my earlier stage of Print practice, I was attracted to the genre Film Noir as well as Martin Lewis and Edward Hoppers’ approaches to capturing moments. Their technique and handling of light and shadow heavily influenced my style of working. Through my print practice this year at RCA, my inspiration came from the bottom of my heart as a person who seeks out the infinite possibilities of night environments and documents moments. I found night-time to be exceedingly fascinating. When walking in the night I do not feel the need to be rational. When immersed in lights and shadows, it is almost an escape from the reality where we all are surrounded by consumerism and mass information every day. Just as other artists and photographers, I love to document moments when the “unknown” takes the main character of that stage. Throughout my creation, I have tested various ways of crafting an image to achieve the best atmospheric outcome. I, as an artist, sincerely wish more people would appreciate the beauty of the night and be creative, imaginative, and energetic towards the possibilities of narratives within the darkness of my prints.