A sepia-toned image shows an icy river with a snowy mountain in the background. Bright, cloudy light appears above the mountain. A bridge stretches across the left side. Subtitle at the bottom reads: "1998 summer, Wuhan was flooded again.

Chris Zhongtian Yuan Residency

Chris Zhongtian Yuan was in residence at Studio Voltaire from October to November 2025.

Yuan’s practice recomposes vernacular sonic and spatial materials, playfully and intimately examining the personal and the institutional, the diasporic and the conceptual. Working with video, sound, performance, sculpture and installation, Yuan’s work builds around the notion of ‘Punk filmmaking’, considering space, relation and context to blur the boundary among critique, care and confabulation.

During his residency, Yuan explored ways of documenting performance and its narrative potential. Working around a fictional “artist resident,” they hoped to investigate themes of residency, performance and sound, experimenting with sonic, sculptural and textual fragments.

Building on a performative reading developed during a previous residency at Current Plans in Hong Kong, Yuan explored local music-based subcultures and sites of protest to explore local relationships and connections.

This residency is funded by Arts Humanities Research Council Techne. Supported by Kingston School of Art.

Chris Zhongtian Yuan (b. 1988, Wuhan) lives and works in London, UK.
Recent solo exhibitions include: Triangolo, Cremona (2025); Surplus Space, Wuhan (2024); Reading International, Reading (2023); Macalline Art Center, Beijing (2023); V.O Curations, London (2022); The Courtauld Institute of Art, London (2021); 1815, K11, Wuhan (2020). Recent group exhibitions and screenings include: MAC Panama (2025); Bund Art Center, Shanghai (2025); Kunsthal Rotterdam (2025); Kunsthal Charlottenborg, Copenhagen (2025); Guangdong Times Museum, Guangzhou (2024); Somerset House (2024, 2022); International Film Festival Rotterdam (2023); Whitechapel Gallery (2022); Power Station of Art, Shanghai (2021); Videoex, Zurich (2021); OCAT Institute, Beijing (2021, 2020); Venice Architecture Biennale Greek Pavilion, Venice (2018) among others.
1. Chris Zhongtian Yuan, Wuhan Punk, 2020. Film still. Courtesy of the artist.
2. Chris Zhongtian Yuan, Childhood Scenes, 2025. Installation view Triangolo Cremona. Courtesy of the artist.
3. Chris Zhongtian Yuan, Childhood Scenes, 2025. Installation view Triangolo Cremona. Courtesy of the artist.
4. Chris Zhongtian Yuan, Childhood Scenes, 2025. Installation view Triangolo Cremona. Courtesy of the artist.
5. Chris Zhongtian Yuan, Close Closer, 2021. Installation view OCAT Institute Beijing. Courtesy of the artist.