Fan Zhang

No Man Is An Island is a generative installation inspired by a poem written by John Donne in 1624.

This poem, from my perspective, engaged in the topic of communication and society. With this project, I'm aiming to explore the boundaries between digital and physical, logical and perceptual.

For reading this poem, I applied four different languages: Chinese, English, Portuguese, and Japanese, and utilized them to change the visual. A fabric with poem screen-printed on it is used as a background for this video, combined as a new poem.

This is a redesigned book of zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance, which was written by Robert M. Pirsig in 1974, telling the story of a bike trip across the American continent, while contemplating the topic of seeking values in life.

Nowadays, we can envision every corner of the earth without being physically there by ourselves. The convenient and fast-paced lifestyle could make us overlook the underlying messages behind these views. Thus I chose this book to redesign.

The whole book was divided into two parts. The first part is a physical travel journey from the east to the west of America. By combining on-location photos from Google Earth with the literal portraits of the corresponding scenery by the author, it brings tangible imagery to the words.
Part two is a mental trip chronicling the process of searching for the truth, which was formerly referred to as 'QUALITY' in the book. The relevant paragraph of mental alterations may be found in each stop to assist readers' better understanding.

'The park' is a virtual public mental space in the year 2050.

I believe that as AI advances, we will be able to address the problems we are now experiencing and enter a completely new world. According to Maslow's Hierarchy of Demands theory, because all physiological and safety needs were addressed at the time, an increasing number of people will seek mental fulfillment and self-improvement. and 'the park' was established specifically for this reason.

Everyone in 'the park' would see different viewpoints based on their subconscious, intellect, and emotions, which would help them better understand their surroundings and difficulties.

As shown in the first version video, this project is model-based and seeks to portray what happens when people enter 'the Park.'