Portal to Dreamland
This exhibition marks Zhang Xinyi Selina’s (张心怡, 1996) first solo show in Japan. Like a doorway into a dreamland, she hopes that as visitors step into her inner world, they will feel the childlike wonder that shapes her art: a deep curiosity for the world, untainted and pure. At the same time, she invites them to rediscover a part of themselves: an inner spark of innocence and imagination that may have been quietly forgotten in the rhythm of daily life.
The artist’s creation draws inspiration from her self-discovery journey and spiritual practices, her work is deeply influenced by the Chinese Daoism philosophy, the work of Sigmund Freud, and Carl Gustav Jung. For Selina, the practice of everyday drawing is a self-disciplinary tool where the intuitive and improvised drawings serve as mirrors for her emotions, she started to draw one drawing per day in 2020, at the beginning of the pandemic, as a methodology to help her recognize her own emotions, and as an outlet for her feelings of the day. As the work grew and accumulated, the drawings moved from everyday happenings to deeper, more abstract, and spiritual reflections of her inner world. They became the foundation for her colored paintings, sculptures, and installations.
There is a strong sense of duality in her work. The creations derive from personal experiences yet are universal and deeply relatable to a greater audience. She critiques the current system, yet the outcome is always positive and hopeful.
Her creations explore a world beyond the physical realities: a world of intangible networks, energies, transient emotions, nature, the origin of life, and fascination with the universe.
Regarding materiality, the artist prefers to experiment and incorporate different media in her creations: ink drawings, colored pencil drawings, watercolor paintings, oil paintings, ceramic sculptures, and 3D-printing sculptures. In her exhibitions and events, the artist creates an interactive environment that serves as a “parallel world” that temporarily transports the audience away from the current reality, which is efficiency and outcome-oriented, and focuses on human connections with the surroundings, each other, and self; the exhibitions often incorporate music, technology, and movement.
With relentless creativity and an open mind, she continuously explores the boundaries of art, striving to build a world rich in connection and inspiration across diverse cultures and media.
Catagory: Exhibition
Location: Tokyo, Japan
Gallery: Zaza Galerie
Year: 2025
This exhibition marks Zhang Xinyi Selina’s (张心怡, 1996) first solo show in Japan. Like a doorway into a dreamland, she hopes that as visitors step into her inner world, they will feel the childlike wonder that shapes her art: a deep curiosity for the world, untainted and pure. At the same time, she invites them to rediscover a part of themselves: an inner spark of innocence and imagination that may have been quietly forgotten in the rhythm of daily life.
The artist’s creation draws inspiration from her self-discovery journey and spiritual practices, her work is deeply influenced by the Chinese Daoism philosophy, the work of Sigmund Freud, and Carl Gustav Jung. For Selina, the practice of everyday drawing is a self-disciplinary tool where the intuitive and improvised drawings serve as mirrors for her emotions, she started to draw one drawing per day in 2020, at the beginning of the pandemic, as a methodology to help her recognize her own emotions, and as an outlet for her feelings of the day. As the work grew and accumulated, the drawings moved from everyday happenings to deeper, more abstract, and spiritual reflections of her inner world. They became the foundation for her colored paintings, sculptures, and installations.
There is a strong sense of duality in her work. The creations derive from personal experiences yet are universal and deeply relatable to a greater audience. She critiques the current system, yet the outcome is always positive and hopeful.
Her creations explore a world beyond the physical realities: a world of intangible networks, energies, transient emotions, nature, the origin of life, and fascination with the universe.
Regarding materiality, the artist prefers to experiment and incorporate different media in her creations: ink drawings, colored pencil drawings, watercolor paintings, oil paintings, ceramic sculptures, and 3D-printing sculptures. In her exhibitions and events, the artist creates an interactive environment that serves as a “parallel world” that temporarily transports the audience away from the current reality, which is efficiency and outcome-oriented, and focuses on human connections with the surroundings, each other, and self; the exhibitions often incorporate music, technology, and movement.
With relentless creativity and an open mind, she continuously explores the boundaries of art, striving to build a world rich in connection and inspiration across diverse cultures and media.
Catagory: Exhibition
Location: Tokyo, Japan
Gallery: Zaza Galerie
Year: 2025
