Emma x Zhang (EXZ) is a multidisciplinary artist based in Melbourne, Australia, working across mixed media and new media installations.
EXZ graduated with a Master of Fine Arts from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT); Bachelor of Design (Communication Design) degree from the same institution. EXZ received international recognition as the 2023 winner in the Digital Art category of the Global Design Graduation Show, a competition organised by Arts Thread in collaboration with Gucci. EXZ collaborated with Rhys Cousins to win the RMIT Wristband Art 2022 Competition with the artwork “The Möbius Universe” — an eight-meter-high suspended installation displayed in RMIT Swanston Library. In 2024, the duo exhibited “The Eye Touch” at the Sorse Gallery, and “Hold Sway” at the Maroondah Federation Estate Gallery. EXZ’s 2025 projects include live audiovisual performances at Howler and The Mission to Seafarers (Norla Dome) for Platform Present’s immersive art parties, visuals for Euphorie, and a performance during her open studio at Manang Artist Residency in Nepal—located near the Annapurna III and IV peaks of the Himalayas. She also presented at INSEQUENCE, curated by SIRC_UIT in Blue Mountain, Sydney.
ARTIST STATEMENT
Emma x Zhang’s practice explores colour in various mediums, including light projection, multimedia and mixed media, focusing on conveying a vivid spectrum of visual experiences. Zhang harnesses the transient nature of light to display digitally manipulated online archives, ranging from microscopic insects and bioluminescent deep-sea creatures to mundane objects viewed through high-resolution lenses, interrogating how natural phenomena can be manipulated through a series of fragmented abstractions to create an otherworldly hyper-realm. Rooted in an interest in design, technology, and digital visual culture, EXZ’s work continuously investigates new ways of seeing.
EDUCATION
2023 Master of Fine Art
RMIT University, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology
2014 – 2016 Bachelor of Design (Communication Design)
RMIT University, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2025 “Insequence”, duo live audiovisual performance, Sirc-uit, Sydney, Australia
2025 “Bugskin”, audiovisual performance, Platform Presents, The Mission to Seafarers Victoria, Melbourne, Australia
2025 “Phantasm”, & audiovisual performance, Platform Presents x HER – Dinner AFTER parties, Howler, Melbourne, Australia
2024 “Hold Sway“, duo Exhibition, Maroondah Federation Estate Gallery, Melbourne, Australia
2024 “The Eye Touch“, duo Exhibition, Sorse Gallery, Melbourne, Australia
2024 “Mirage in Temporal Hues“, Square & Friends Gallery, Nicolas Building, Melbourne, Australia
2023 “Enter The Underworld“, Google Arts & Culture Online Exhibit: Fine Art / Photography / Craft Winners 2023 — Global Design Graduate Show, collaboration with Gucci, Arts Thread
2023 “Mystic Sips: Realm Unveiled”, Out of the World, Platform Exhibitions, Abbotsford Convent, Melbourne, Australia
2023 “Muta-Morphosis”, WITNESS: A Night of Art and Music, RUSU After Dark, Melbourne, Australia
2023 “Symmetry”, The Elastic Mind, The Broward College South Gallery, Florida, United States
2023 “Enter the Underworld”, video for “Chromaphilia Dreams” Outdoor Screen, Bunjil Place, Melbourne, Australia
2023 “Floating Reflection: A journey into the unseen world“, Platform Exhibitions, Abbotsford Convent, Melbourne, Australia
2022 “Enter the Red”, Lateral Prompt, Miscellania, Melbourne, Australia
2022 “Digital Wonderscape“, Art School Graduation Show 2022, RMIT, Melbourne, Australia
2022 “Enter the Underworld”, Lateral Prompt, Miscellania, Melbourne, Australia
2022 “Skinless” WOMEN* NOW, Queen Victoria Women’s Centre, Melbourne, Australia
2022 “Translumia” Testing Grounds Public Art Park, Melbourne, Australia
2022 “Nanometamorph“, After Walter Hopps, Platform Arts, Geelong, Australia
2022 “Translumia“, The Cure, Preston, Melbourne, Australia
2021 “Simulations“, RMIT MFA Annual Auction, Online
AWARDS & RESIDENCIES
2025 Manang Artist Residency, Spring 2025, Annapurna Sanctuary, Ngawal, Nepal
2024 The National Association for the Visual Arts (NAVA) NAVA Ignition Prize
2023 “Enter The Underworld“, Joint winner of the Digital Arts category, Global Design Graduate Show 2023, Arts Thread in collaboration with Gucci.
2022 “The Möbius Universe“, competition winner featuring Rhys Cousins, Swanston Library, RMIT University, Victoria.