Zijun & Yanan’s Playground
ZIPLOC
2023
(Bridging Digital and Physical Grids)This zine explores the intersection of digital and physical spaces by merging Google Sheets’ grid system with Ziploc’s containment structure.
Visually, the design language borrows elements from web interfaces, translating spreadsheet aesthetics into physical compositions. The project employs riso print colors to enhance its layered, experimental nature, echoing the intersection of digital precision and handmade imperfection. The final presentation exists in both physical and web-based formats, allowing for a fluid transition between screen and touch.
by Zijun
10′6″× 9′9″
2025
This is a small practice, limited in seven days. I used images and texts to documented various items around my room, trying to use these scattered daily items as basic elements to retell a ordinary slice of life.
这是一次限时七天的微小实践。我用图像和文字记录了房间里的若干物品，试图以这些零散的日常碎片作为基本元素，重新讲述一段平淡的生命切片。
by Yanan
Another 10'6'' x 9'9''
2025
I realized that my friend Zhuo lives directly above me, on the sixth floor. This means we share the same piece of land, only at different heights. We have similar square footage, similar layouts—the only difference lies between the second and the sixth floor.Although our living habits are quite different, the similarity of our spaces led us, unknowingly, to arrange our rooms in nearly the same way: the desk sits beside the window, and when we sit at it, the bed is just behind us.
I invited her to follow my collection framework, to find her own set of 32 items within her space, in response to the 32 I had gathered.
What follows is her response.
by Yanan
WALK.
2024
An encyclopedia of walking.
This book documents three walking journeys across San Francisco and two reflective articles on the act of walking. The book employs a loose structure, allowing the reading experience to mirror the sensation of a walk, moving fluidly between abstraction and the physical world. In doing so, it invites readers to reflect on their own relationship with urban space and the act of walking itself.
Articles sourced:
Flânerie: The Art of Aimless Strolling
Wanderlust: A History of Walking, Rebecca Solnit’s
by Yanan
Walk Through the Connecticut Street
2024
On a map, this street appears as a straight line, but if you actually stand on it, you’ll find that the street is sloped and continually ascending, requiring you to walk uphill. I gathered elevation data related to these height changes and used it to create a grid system. The whole street is divided into different segments by its intersections, resulting in six intersections and six street parts.In the grid system, one block represents one meter. For instance, if a segment is 11 meters high, there will be 11 blocks vertically. The images within the grid come from my own photography, and I selected certain shapes to translate my personal walking experience using special techniques, such as filters or stretching effects. These fragments can also be rearranged by different people to create new narratives. The colors of the images are derived from the repeating signs that appear along the street.
by Yanan
into the island: poem and interrogation 登上埃伦: 审问与诗
2024
This is a series of publishing, including three parts: Personal Journey, Fragments of Documents, and Interrogation and Poem. This publishing traces the intertwined relationship between islands and identity documentation. Centered on spaces such as immigration stations, the project weaves together personal archives, official records, and island landscapes to tell a story of migration, waiting, and identity. As a form of archive, this work presents an abstract narrative that conveys the permission and prohibition imposed on individuals, as well as the recognition of identity under official documents. It explores how documentation shapes one’s passage, presence, and sense of belonging.
Interrogation and Poem include some interrogation that actually happened at angel island and poem carving on the wall.
by Yanan
Data Witch Divination
2025
This is a zine that reimagines digital divination through the lens of a Data Witch. Printed in a fluorescent orange Riso, its abstract visuals distort the boundaries between prophecy and algorithm. A hypnotic blend of technology and mysticism, it reveals the unseen patterns within our digital existence.
by Zijun
SHAMATE 杀马特
2023
A Visual and Social Exploration of China’s Shamate Subculture
This project is an encyclopedia-style book that documents the overlooked Shamate subculture—a working-class youth movement in China that emerged in the early 2000s. Often misunderstood and marginalized, Shamate fashion is a radical blend of Gothic, Visual Kei, and cyberpunk aesthetics, serving as both a form of self-expression and a response to social displacement.
Through interviews and research, this book sheds light on the personal stories behind the exaggerated hairstyles, bold makeup, and vibrant clothing. The design mirrors the spirit of Shamate—its pages are saturated with rich colors and dynamic edge treatments, reflecting the subculture’s rebellious and theatrical nature. By blending visual storytelling with sociological inquiry, this work invites deeper discourse on identity, class, and the right to self-representation in contemporary China.
by Zijun