​Shuohan Yuan,  born 1998 in Shanghai China, is an artist and filmmaker based in Tokyo and Nagoya

Working primarily with video installation and performance, Yuan explores sensory memory and narrative formations emerging from experiences of mobility and encounters with others. In recent years, their practice has focused on how moving-image works circulate across different institutional contexts—such as museums, cinemas, and film festivals. Through both artistic practice and research, Yuan investigates how trans-Asian narratives are received and transformed within the intersecting spatial conditions of the white cube and the black box.

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Education

 

2026–present PhD Program in Screen Studies, Graduate School of Humanities, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Japan

2025 Inter-Media Art,Tokyo Art University,Tokyo,Japan

2021 Imaging arts and sciences,Musashino Art University,Tokyo,Japan

 

 

SOLO SHOWS 

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2020.8.17-23 Transparent Coffin，Banshan Gallery

2026.5.16-6.14 TOKAS-Emerging 2026，Tokyo Arts and Space (TOKAS) Hongo, Tokyo, Japan

 

 

GROUP SHOWS 

2018.07.12–07.17 Group Exhibition, The Second Reality, Alt_Medium, Tokyo, Japan

2018.09.04–09.13 Group Exhibition, 1st Emerging Artists Exhibition, Invisible Museum (Mienai Bijutsukan), Ishikawa, Japan

2019.04.13–05.05 Group Exhibition, Tokyo Independent 2019, Tokyo University of the Arts, Tokyo, Japan

2019.10.25 Group Exhibition, Our World, Fujimigaoka Girls’ High School, Tokyo, Japan

2020.03.03–03.16 Group Exhibition, Swipe Gallery Web Exhibition, Online

2021.03.08–03.13 Musashino Art University Graduation Exhibition, Tokyo, Japan

2024.09.21–09.23 FestFilm Akizuki, Akizuki, Fukuoka, Japan

2025.01.28–02.01 Tokyo University of the Arts Graduation Exhibition, Ueno Campus, Tokyo, Japan

2025.02.15–02.24 Agency for Cultural Affairs Media Arts Creator Development Support Program “Sairai” Final Presentation, TODAL Hall, Tokyo, Japan

2025.09.27–09.28 FilmFest Akizuki, Akizuki, Fukuoka, Japan

2025.11.25–12.02 Group Exhibition, Speaking of Pain Like the Weather, University Art Museum (University Art Museum & Exhibition Hall), Tokyo University of the Arts, Ueno, Tokyo, Japan

 

SCREENING

 

2026.2.23 Screening: Michi o Tsukuru Studio XYZ, Higashi-Nakano, Tokyo, Japan

2025.11.27–28 Tomodachi Moving Image Exhibition，Curitiba, Brazil

2025.10.25Maebashi Film Festival，Maebashi, Gunma, Japan

2025.10 Sairai Video Image Festival，Tokyo, Japan

2025.10.4 Sairai Retrospective Exhibition，Tokyo, Japan

2025.9.20 Short Film Screening, Unicorn Film Club，Tokyo, Japan

2025.4.27 Love Phantom Short Film Festival，Platform, Tokyo, Japan

2025.2.8–9Kimino Kainan Film Festival，Kainan, Wakayama, Japan

2025.1.11 Uno Port Art Film Festival (UPAF2024)，Okayama, Japan

2024.11.9–17 Nasu Short Film Festival，Nasu, Tochigi, Japan

2024.11.2 Maebashi Film Festival 2024，Maebashi, Gunma, Japan

2024.10.24–25 Sairai Art Festival，Tokyo, Japan

2024.8.18 Tokyo Student Film Festival (Nominee)，Tokyo, Japan

2022Sairai Sanya Art Festival，Namida-bashi Hall, Tokyo, Japan

2021.3.1–13 Independent in Asia: Re-encountering Japanese Cinema，Nagoya University, Japan

2020.9 Uno Port Art Film Festival (UPAF2020)，Online / Okayama, Japan

2019.2Documentary Screening “You Are Not Alone”，MAU with CASIO, Tokyo, Japan

 

Workshop

​2025.7.20 My Floating Island，Workshop held at Place M, Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan

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​Artist Statement

With the advancement of globalization, individuals have the freedom to choose their own place, leaving their birthplaces behind, embarking on journeys, and arriving somewhere else. Along with such movements, the landscapes one sees also change. In this process, there arises an opportunity to encounter others and re-examine oneʼs own existence. The places where one can affirm their own existence keep changing. As individuals born into this world, we gain a sense of position within it, amidst others, events, and things, and we expand through mutual permeation. Regardless of where we are, we continue to seek a place that accepts us.

However, even in societies that continue to diversify, moments of feeling lost or directionless exist. The sense of belonging isnʼt always felt as a constant, and moments of loneliness may be experienced by anyone. Itʼs common for individuals to lose sight of their sense of place or direction amidst movement or change, and such situations can lead to psychological distress or social isolation.

As an international resident, I have strongly felt the changes in landscapes due to my own movements and environmental shifts. Regardless of where one stands or the direction one is heading, thereʼs always a presence, even when itʼs unseen. I believe that now, as urbanization and globalization progress, many people like myself have experienced similar feelings. In such circumstances, I strive to convey the message, “Donʼt worry, itʼs okay,” and “Youʼre not alone,” to those who feel lost amidst various issues faced by international students.

In my main works, such as “Why I Am Here Now” (2020), I explored my identity as an international student through my experiences, family memories, and interviews. Through film and music, I compared the past with the present and expressed the memories of individuals and groups. In “Donʼt worry, It is okay” (2021), I focused on others grappling with various issues due to studying abroad. A projector rotating 360 degrees represented my perspective, overlapping with screens symbolizing others, portraying complex phenomena. Images merged and separated, with photos saved on my phone also projected, emphasizing individual perspectives by zooming in and out on the eyes of people in the photos. Additionally, “Suction Cup” expressed the pain of international students, likening their past to the circulation of blood. By extracting movements from exhibited videos, I reinterpreted the actions themselves. In “So this is what it feels like…” (2023-2024), I reconstructed events based on my experiences as a working professional. I focused on anxieties about first-time adventures, unexpected events, and the sense of reality arising from being apart, expressing the reactions of my body and mind. I also shared questions and discomfort regarding gender and nationality from a small perspective. Currently, through moving landscapes and frames, as well as visual expressions, Iʼm interested in contemplating changes in personal environments as a foreigner.

Through visual expressions and narrative constructions, I focus on both introspective aspects and actions. Images abound in our daily world, from advertisements to television and movies, crafted based on familiar experiences and cultural backgrounds. I consider visual expressions as a means to substitute for human perspectives and bring them closer to our reality. Visual representations resonate with our emotions and experiences because they align with our perspectives and emotions. When they align with human perspectives, we can immerse ourselves more easily in that world and gain a stronger empathy through experience. I particularly emphasize, through the method of transitioning from self-documentary forms to addressing others, the importance of sharing oneʼs thoughts and experiences with others, enhancing self-awareness through encounters with others, and acknowledging the differences of others without denial. Physical actions bring about new experiences, and experiences gained through interactions with others via performance are diverse, each understood through individual words, memories, and experiences. In visual expressions, I seek a unique balance and interaction between still images and videos. This balance and interaction appeal to the memories and emotions of the audience through narrative composition. I attempt to stimulate peopleʼs thoughts with playful visual language, evoked by specific events and associations, and construct imaginary places on the spot. My aim is to encourage people in these imaginative places.

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