From left: Zhao Mengyuan, curator of the Hongkun Museum, and artists Zhang Ying, A Ping and Fenni Photo: Courtesy of Kun

Three artists taking part in the Hongkun Museum of Fine Art's first Artist in Residence project revealed their latest works at a small town in Zhangjiakou, Hebei Province, on Friday as part of the museum's Open Studio event. 

According to the museum, the residence project was inspired by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, which halted outdoor travel and accesses to nature. After restrictions began to ease in China, people discovered that the cities in which they live, nature and the way they communicate were changing. The museum said it hopes the residence can help increase awareness among artists toward nature and cities, themselves and other people. 

Zhang Ying, one of the three artists, released her work made up of three short videos that focus on choice, thinking and expression. 

"It is an inspirational experience for all three of us, who can work to inspire each other," she said. 

"Although we work in different mediums, we can still reach something under a unified theme."

Artist Fenni focused more on nature with voices and natural noises to create an atmosphere to present Zhang's video and a body movement and language performance by A Ping. 

All of her improvised movements depicted a story, in which a machine starts to feel emotions and a sense of self and then becomes human.