Born in 1989, Jiawei Zhao is a photo-based artist. He is a full-time instructor in photography at Kede College of Capital Normal University. Currently, he lives and works between Beijing and New York City. Jiawei explores the phenomenon of displacement and dislocation caused by the interaction and change between people and living space through the comprehensive use of creative media such as photography, everyday objects and installations.

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While Jiawei Zhao aims to reconcile, Zhiliang Zhao’s recent work, Plaque, captures and sculpts resonant expressions from everyday encounters, not as alienation but as a playful recontextualization of foreignness that emerges from the fractures of the mundane. In his Plaque (On a Wednesday Morning), he transforms a bold statement from a casual conversation—“On Wednesday morning, I’m a were- wolf”—into a seemingly vulnerable small-scale plaque. The material presentation contrasts with the wild energy of the words, playing with the tension between text and form. This contrast is also evident in Plaque (If I Can’t Please), where the phrase is written on a vertical column-like structure.

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As one reads from top to bottom, the text blurs, and the color fades, emphasizing the instability of meaning as it unfolds across the continuous surface of the sculpture. By consciously choosing to reframe these moments, Zhao offers a distinct perspective on foreignness highlighting the absurd contrasts that exist in seemingly trivial moments with the significant presence lurking beneath.