Zhanyi Chen’s (b.1997) works probe how soft science fiction offers intervals to reflect on the tension between sky technologies, their environmental and psychological effects, and the cultures in weather and environments. Using weather satellite data, early Space Age archives, and speculative storytelling, she makes objects that propose how celestial and other infrastructural technologies, from language to electronics, can be strategically misused to prioritize human experience over functionality. When these technologies fail, they become conduits for narrative and emotion, speaking about our constant yearning for miraculous connections.
She has exhibited at institutions including Rockbund Art Museum (Shanghai), the MIT Museum (Cambridge), and the Fall River Museum of Contemporary Art (Fall River). She was a recipient of the Harold and Arlene Schnitzer Prize in the Visual Arts (2024). She has co-organized symposiums on Sky Art at MIT and participated in residencies and research-based projects that interrogate the intersection of infrastructure, fiction, and affect. She holds an MS in Art, Culture, and Technology from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an MFA in Digital + Media from Rhode Island School of Design.